bọ rùa
[ʔɓɔ˧˨ʔ zuə˨˩]word by word
The English phrase "ladybug" is translated into Vietnamese as bọ rùa.
bọ rùa refers to a small, round beetle with a red or orange shell and black spots.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of bọ, meaning insect or beetle and rùa, meaning turtle. It literally translates to "turtle beetle" because of the insect's rounded shell.
How does it change in a sentence?
In natural speech, the classifier con is often added before bọ rùa to form con bọ rùa.
Did you know?
- The word for 'bug' in bọ rùa, which is bọ, shares a linguistic ancestor with the Vietnamese word for 'father'.
- The reduplicated form rùa rùa used for this insect is part of a fading linguistic trend where many animal names used double words.
Examples in context
- Có một con bọ rùa trên lá.There is a ladybug on the leaf.
- Con bọ rùa này có nhiều đốm đen.This ladybug has many black spots.
- Em thích nhìn những con bọ rùa.I like looking at ladybugs.
Example conversation
Lan and Nam are sitting in a garden.
- LanNam, nhìn kìa, một con bọ rùa!Nam, look, a ladybug!
- NamNó nhỏ và dễ thương quá.It is so small and cute.
- LanNó đang bò trên bông hoa của em.It is crawling on my flower.
- NamĐừng làm nó sợ nhé.Don't scare it.
