Definition

1. Noun:

   • Nail: A small, slender piece of metal (or sometimes wood) with a sharp point at one end and a flat head at the other, used to fasten objects together by being hammered in.
   • Bo tree (Ficus religiosa): A large, sacred fig tree, known for its heart-shaped leaves and cultural significance.
   • Carbuncle/Furuncle: A painful, pus-filled swelling under the skin caused by infected hair follicles; a large boil.
   • Ding (Heavenly Stem): The fourth of the ten Heavenly Stems in the traditional Chinese calendrical system.

2. Noun (historical):

   • Taxable male citizen: In feudal Vietnam, a young, able-bodied man of an age liable for corvée labor and military conscription.

3. Verb (archaic/regional):

   • To wear, to put on (clothing): An older or dialectal term for wearing garments.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Nail):

  • Anh cần một cây búa và vài cây đinh. (He needs a hammer and a few nails.)
  • Đinh được đóng chắc vào tường. (The nail was driven firmly into the wall.)

• Noun (Tree):

  • Cây đinh cổ thụ tỏa bóng mát trong sân chùa. (The ancient bo tree provides shade in the temple courtyard.)

• Noun (Infection):

  • Lưng anh ta nổi một cái đinh rất to. (A very large boil appeared on his back.)

• Noun (Heavenly Stem):

  • Năm đó là năm Đinh Tỵ. (That year was the year of Đinh Tỵ [Ding-Si].)

Advanced Usage

• "đinh đóng cột": An idiom meaning "definitive, ironclad, unquestionable," literally "nailed and pillared."

  • Đây là con số đinh đóng cột, không thể thay đổi. (This is an ironclad figure and cannot be changed.)

• "lên đinh": To develop a boil; colloquially, it can mean to be in a very difficult or tight spot.

  • Công việc dồn lại khiến tôi sắp "lên đinh" mất. (The piled-up work is putting me in a very tight spot.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đinh ốc (n): Screw (a fastener with a threaded shank).

  • Vặn chặt con đinh ốc đó lại. (Tighten that screw.)

• Đinh hương (n): Clove (the spice).

  • Thêm một ít đinh hương vào nồi phở. (Add a few cloves to the pho pot.)

• Đinh ba (n): Trident (a three-pronged spear).

  • Vị thần biển cầm cây đinh ba. (The sea god holds a trident.)

Synonyms

• Nail: spike, tack, brad.
• Boil: carbuncle, furuncle, abscess.
• Wear (verb): don, put on, attire oneself in (for the archaic verb sense).

Related Idioms

• "Cứng như đinh": As hard as nails; describing someone who is very tough, stubborn, or resilient.

  • Ông ấy già rồi nhưng vẫn cứng như đinh. (He is old but still as tough as nails.)

• "Đinh tai nhức óc: Ear-splitting, deafening (literally "nail the ears, ache the brain").

  • Tiếng ồn từ công trường đinh tai nhức óc. (The noise from the construction site is deafening.)

verb

1. to nail