bói

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Definition

Verb:
- To divine; to tell fortunes; to practice fortune-telling: The primary meaning of "bói" is to attempt to gain knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural or mystical means.
- To find with great difficulty; to scrounge up (used primarily in negative contexts): In informal speech, "bói" means to search for something that is extremely scarce or unavailable.
- To bear fruit for the first time (of a tree or plant): In agricultural contexts, "bói" describes a plant producing its first crop of fruit.

Usage Examples

Verb (to divine):
- Ông cụ ngồi bói bài cho khách. (The old man sat telling fortunes with cards for customers.)
- Cô ấy không tin vào việc bói toán. (She does not believe in fortune-telling.)
Verb (to find with difficulty):
- Giữa mùa đông này, bói đâu ra hoa sen? (In the middle of winter, where could you possibly find lotus flowers?)
Verb (to bear first fruit):
- Cây xoài này năm nay mới bói. (This mango tree is bearing fruit for the first time this year.)

Advanced Usage

The activity of fortune-telling is often referred to as "bói toán".
- Bói toán đôi khi chỉ dựa vào suy đoán tâm lý. (Fortune-telling sometimes relies only on psychological guesswork.)
A person who practices divination is called a "thầy bói" (male) or "cô bói"/"bà bói" (female).
- Thầy bói nói tôi sẽ gặp may mắn. (The fortune-teller said I would encounter good luck.)

Variants and Related Words

Bói bài (v): To tell fortunes using cards (cartomancy).
Bói chỉ tay (v): To read palms (palmistry).
Bói Kiều (v): A traditional Vietnamese form of divination using random verses from the epic poem .

Synonyms

To divine: To discover by guesswork or intuition, often with a supernatural connotation.
To foretell: To predict the future.
To augur: To portend or serve as an omen.

Related Idioms

Bói ra ma, quét nhà ra rác: Literally "Fortune-telling conjures ghosts, sweeping the house brings out trash." This proverb criticizes fortune-telling, implying that looking for trouble (by seeking fortunes) will inevitably find it, just as cleaning will always find dust. It warns that unnecessary probing can create problems where none existed.
Không bói cũng biết: Literally "Even without fortune-telling, one knows." This phrase means something is so obvious it doesn't require any prediction or special insight.

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verb

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