đồng cư
Definition
- Verb:
- To cohabit: To live together in the same residence, typically referring to people sharing a home. This is the core and most common meaning.
- To coexist: To exist or live together simultaneously in the same place, often used in broader social or ecological contexts.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Hai người bạn quyết định đồng cư để tiết kiệm chi phí. (The two friends decided to cohabit to save on expenses.)
- Nhiều loài động vật hoang dã đồng cư trong khu rừng này. (Many species of wild animals coexist in this forest.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is formal and is often used in sociological, anthropological, or legal contexts rather than in everyday casual conversation about roommates.
Variants and Related Words
- Sống chung (v): A more common and colloquial phrase meaning "to live together."
- Họ đã sống chung được hai năm. (They have lived together for two years.)
Synonyms
- Cohabit: To live together as or as if a married couple.
- Coexist: To live in peace with each other.
- Reside together: A more formal way to express sharing a dwelling.
Related Idioms
- : This is a classical Sino-Vietnamese idiom meaning "to share a bed but have different dreams," describing people who live together but have fundamentally different goals or thoughts. It is analogous to the English idiom "to be at cross purposes."
- Công ty đó gặp khó khăn vì các lãnh đạo đồng cư dị mộng. (That company faces difficulties because its leaders are at cross purposes.)