Definition

1. Noun:
   • Outer covering of plants and fruits: The thin, often removable, outer layer of a tree, fruit, or vegetable.
   • Shell or hard casing of animals: The hard, protective outer layer of certain small animals, such as snails or shellfish.
   • Case, cover, or sheath of an object: An outer covering or container for an item, often serving as protection or a housing.
   • Bark or root used for betel chewing: The bark or root of certain trees, traditionally chewed with betel leaf and areca nut.
   • (Colloquial) Tire: The rubber covering of a wheel.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Vỏ cây này rất dày. (The bark of this tree is very thick.)
  • Hãy bóc vỏ chuối trước khi ăn. (Please peel the banana before eating it.)
  • Trên bãi biển có rất nhiều vỏ ốc đẹp. (There are many beautiful seashells on the beach.)
  • Anh ấy tra thanh kiếm vào vỏ. (He sheathed the sword into its scabbard.)
  • Xe đạp của tôi bị nổ vỏ. (My bicycle has a flat tire.)

Advanced Usage

• "dưới vỏ (của)...": under the guise/cover of..., used to describe a deceptive outward appearance.
  • Hắn hành động dưới vỏ một người tốt. (He acts under the guise of a good person.)
• "vỏ bọc": a cover, shell, or facade, often implying something used to conceal the true nature.
  • Vỏ bọc ngoài cùng của kiến trúc rất hiện đại. (The outermost shell of the architecture is very modern.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vỏ bọc (n): casing, shell, cover, facade.
• Vỏ ngoài (n): outer shell/skin.
• Bóc vỏ (v): to peel, to shell.
• Lột vỏ (v): to strip off the skin/shell.

Synonyms

• Lớp vỏ: layer/shell (more general).
• Vỏ cây: bark (specifically for trees).
• Vỏ quả: peel, rind, skin (specifically for fruits).
• Mai (n): carapace, shell (e.g., of a turtle).
• Vỏ trấu (n): husk (of rice).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Lột bỏ vỏ ngoài: to shed the outer layer/shell; can be used literally or metaphorically.
  • Con rắn lột bỏ vỏ ngoài của nó. (The snake sheds its skin.)
• Trong vỏ (một) giây: in a split second, in the blink of an eye (idiomatic, using "vỏ" as a measure of an extremely short time, like the "shell" of a second).
  • Mọi thứ xảy ra trong vỏ một giây. (Everything happened in a split second.)

Related Idioms

• Vỏ quýt dày có móng tay nhọn: Literally "A thick tangerine peel meets a sharp fingernail." Meaning: Every problem has a solution; a cunning person meets their match.
  • Đừng lo, vỏ quýt dày có móng tay nhọn mà. (Don't worry, there's always a way to deal with it.)
• Tránh vỏ dưa gặp vỏ dừa: Literally "Avoid the watermelon rind, only to step on the coconut shell." Meaning: To jump out of the frying pan and into the fire; to go from one bad situation to another.
  • Anh ấy thay đổi công việc nhưng lại tránh vỏ dưa gặp vỏ dừa. (He changed jobs but jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.)

noun

1. cover, bark, shell, sheath, husk, skin, peel, pot, crust tyre