đốt rẫy
Definition
- Verb:
- To slash-and-burn (for cultivation): The primary meaning of "đốt rẫy" is the agricultural practice of clearing land by cutting down vegetation and then burning it to prepare the area for planting crops. This is a traditional method often used in upland or forested areas.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Người dân tộc thiểu số thường đốt rẫy để trồng lúa và ngô. (Ethnic minorities often practice slash-and-burn to grow rice and corn.)
- Việc đốt rẫy không kiểm soát có thể gây cháy rừng. (Uncontrolled slash-and-burn can cause forest fires.)
Advanced Usage
- The term specifically refers to the integrated process of clearing and burning for a swidden field (a "rẫy"). It implies a cycle of cultivation, often followed by a fallow period.
Variants and Related Words
Làm rẫy (v): to cultivate a swidden field; to farm using slash-and-burn methods.
- Gia đình họ lên nương làm rẫy. (Their family goes to the uplands to farm swidden fields.)
Rẫy (n): a swidden; a plot of land cleared for temporary cultivation by slash-and-burn methods.
- Họ thu hoạch khoai mì trên rẫy. (They harvest cassava from the swidden field.)
Synonyms
- To practice slash-and-burn agriculture: the full descriptive term for the activity.
- To clear land by burning: a more general phrase.
Related Concepts
- Nương rẫy: a common compound term referring to upland swidden fields in general.
- Canh tác nương rẫy: swidden agriculture; shifting cultivation. This is the broader agricultural system of which "đốt rẫy" is a key part.