Definition

1. 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.)