đỏ đuôi

Lúa đỏ đuôi trĩu bông trong cánh đồng.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not yet fully ripe (of rice): Describes a state where the grains at the top of the rice panicle have turned red or golden (ripe), while those at the base are still green.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Lúa ngoài đồng đã bắt đầu đỏ đuôi. (The rice in the field has begun to turn red at the tip [but is not fully ripe].)
  • Nông dân chưa gặt vì lúa mới chỉ đỏ đuôi. (The farmers haven't harvested because the rice is only partially ripe.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is highly specific to agriculture, particularly rice cultivation. It describes a precise, transitional stage in the ripening process, important for determining the optimal harvest time.

Variants and Related Words

• Chín đỏ (adj): Fully ripe and red/golden (of rice).
• Xanh (adj): Green, unripe (of crops).
• Chín (adj): Ripe, mature.

Synonyms

• Partially ripe
• Half-ripe (in the specific context of rice where the tip ripens first)

Related Idioms

• While not a common idiom itself, the phrase can be used metaphorically to describe something that is partially complete or only successful in its initial stages.
  • Dự án mới chỉ đỏ đuôi, còn nhiều việc phải làm. (The project is only in its early stages of success; there is still much work to do.)