vun xới
Definition
- Verb:
- To hill up and hoe; to cultivate (soil): The primary agricultural meaning refers to the process of loosening soil around plants and building it up into mounds (hilling) to promote growth, improve aeration, and remove weeds.
- To nurture; to foster; to cultivate (abstract qualities): An extended, metaphorical meaning describing the act of carefully developing and encouraging something intangible, such as talent, a relationship, or a skill.
Usage Examples
Verb (literal, agriculture):
- Người nông dân vun xới đất quanh gốc cây. (The farmer hilled and hoed the soil around the tree base.)
- Công việc vun xới đòi hỏi sự cần cù. (Cultivating the soil requires diligence.)
Verb (figurative, nurturing):
- Giáo viên vun xới tài năng cho học sinh. (The teacher nurtures the students' talents.)
- Họ cùng nhau vun xới tình yêu. (They cultivate their love together.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in formal or literary contexts, especially in its figurative sense. It implies a continuous, careful, and devoted effort.
Variants and Related Words
Vun (v): to pile up, to hill up (soil). Often used in combination with xới.
- Vun đất cho cao. (Hill the soil up high.)
Xới (v): to hoe, to turn over (soil). Often used in combination with vun.
- Xới đất lên cho tơi. (Hoe the soil to make it loose.)
Synonyms
- Cultivate: to prepare and use land for crops; to try to acquire or develop.
- Nurture: to care for and encourage growth or development.
- Foster: to encourage the development of something.
- Till: to prepare land for growing crops.
Related Idioms
- Vun xới mảnh vườn tri thức: to cultivate the garden of knowledge.
- Nhà trường có nhiệm vụ vun xới mảnh vườn tri thức cho trẻ. (The school has the duty to cultivate the garden of knowledge for children.)