tông-đơ
Definition
- Noun:
- Hair clippers / barber clippers: A handheld electrical or mechanical device used for cutting hair short, typically by barbers or for personal grooming. It consists of two sets of teeth that move side-by-side to trim hair.
- Sheep shears: In a broader, less common context, it can refer to tools used for shearing wool from sheep.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Thợ cắt tóc dùng tông-đơ để cắt tóc ngắn. (The barber uses hair clippers to cut hair short.)
- Anh ấy mua một cái tông-đơ mới để tự cắt tóc ở nhà. (He bought a new pair of clippers to cut his own hair at home.)
- Máy tông-đơ này rất mạnh và êm. (These hair clippers are very powerful and quiet.)
Advanced Usage
- The word "tông-đơ" is a loanword, likely from the French "tondeuse" (meaning clippers or mower). It is almost exclusively used in the context of hair cutting in modern Vietnamese.
Variants and Related Words
Máy tông-đơ (n): Emphasizes it as a machine or device. This is a common compound form.
- Máy tông-đơ của hãng nào tốt? (Which brand's hair clippers are good?)
Tông-đơ cắt tóc (n): Specifies hair-cutting clippers.
- Cửa hàng bán nhiều loại tông-đơ cắt tóc. (The store sells many types of hair clippers.)
Synonyms
- Hair clippers: The standard English term for the grooming tool.
- Clippers: A general short form.
- Trimmer: Often used for smaller devices for detailing, but can be related.
Related Idioms
- While there are no direct idioms with "tông-đơ", it can appear in colloquial expressions related to grooming or haircuts.
- Đầu như bị tông-đơ cạo: (A head that looks like it was shaved by clippers) – meaning a very short, clean-cut hairstyle.