đốt đèn
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To light a lamp: The primary meaning of "đốt đèn" is the act of igniting or kindling a lamp to produce light. It refers to the specific action of starting the lamp's flame.
- To keep a lamp burning: It can also describe the state of having a lamp lit, implying the lamp is actively providing illumination.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Trời tối rồi, chúng ta nên đốt đèn lên. (It's dark now, we should light the lamp.)
- Căn phòng tối om, không ai đốt đèn cả. (The room is pitch dark, no one has lit a lamp.)
- Ngày xưa, người ta thường đốt đèn dầu để học bài. (In the old days, people often used to keep oil lamps burning to study.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase can be used metaphorically to imply initiating knowledge, hope, or awareness in a dark or ignorant situation, though this is less common in literal translation.
- Vị giáo sư ấy đã đốt đèn tri thức cho bao thế hệ. (That professor has lit the lamp of knowledge for many generations.)
Variants and Related Words
Thắp đèn (verb phrase): to light a lamp. Often used interchangeably with "đốt đèn," though "thắp" can sound slightly more gentle or ceremonial.
- Mọi người thắp đèn để cầu nguyện. (People light lamps to pray.)
Đốt đuốc (verb phrase): to light a torch.
- Họ đốt đuốc để đi trong rừng đêm. (They lit torches to walk through the forest at night.)
Synonyms
- Light a lamp: the direct synonym for the primary action.
- Kindle a lamp: a more literary synonym for lighting.
Related Idioms
- Đốt đèn tìm người: to light a lamp to look for someone. This can be used literally or to describe a diligent but perhaps difficult search.
- Anh ấy cứ như đốt đèn tìm người giữa ban ngày. (He's like someone lighting a lamp to look for a person in broad daylight – meaning he is making something unnecessarily difficult.)