Definition

1. Noun:
   • Water chestnut (plant): A type of aquatic plant cultivated for its edible corms, living for one year, floating on the water's surface, with slender stems, submerged leaves divided into hair-like segments, and floating diamond-shaped leaves in a rosette pattern. Its fruit is a black, inverted-cone shaped corm with two spines.
   • Young child, infant: A very young human being; a baby or toddler.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Plant):

  • Củ ấu là một món ăn vặt quen thuộc ở miền quê Việt Nam. (Water chestnut is a familiar snack in the Vietnamese countryside.)
  • Hồ này trồng rất nhiều ấu. (This pond grows a lot of water chestnut plants.)

• Noun (Child):

  • Trong xã hội, chúng ta cần quan tâm đến các đối tượng như lão, ấu. (In society, we need to care for groups like the elderly and the young children.)
  • Tình yêu thương dành cho ấu nhi là vô bờ bến. (The love for infants is boundless.)

Advanced Usage

• "Ấu trĩ" (Adj): Childish, immature, naive (often in a negative sense, implying a lack of maturity in thought or behavior).

  • Suy nghĩ đó thật ấu trĩ. (That thought is truly childish/immature.)

• "Thơ ấu" (N): Childhood (the period of being a young child).

  • Những ký ức thơ ấu của tôi thật đẹp. (My childhood memories are so beautiful.)

Variants and Related Words

• Củ ấu (N): The edible corm/fruit of the water chestnut plant.

  • Mẹ mua một rổ củ ấu về luộc. (Mom bought a basket of water chestnuts to boil.)

• Ấu nhi (N): Infant, baby (a more formal or literary term for a very young child).

  • Nhà trẻ chăm sóc ấu nhi. (The nursery takes care of infants.)

• Ấu trùng (N): Larva (the immature, wingless, and often wormlike feeding form of insects).

  • Ấu trùng bướm ăn lá cây. (Butterfly larvae eat leaves.)

Synonyms

• Trẻ con, trẻ nhỏ (N): Child, kid (for the meaning of 'young child').
• Trẻ thơ (N): Young child, little one (often with a tender connotation).
• Nhi đồng (N): Children (often referring to school-age children).

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Trai lớn gái ấu": An idiom describing a marriage or relationship where the man is significantly older than the woman (literally: grown man, young girl).

  • Câu chuyện cổ tích thường có motif trai lớn gái ấu. (Fairy tales often have the motif of an older man and a young girl.)

• "Lão ấu vô y": An idiom meaning both the old and the young are cared for, indicating a compassionate and well-ordered society (literally: the elderly and the young have nothing to worry about).

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