hò

verb

• To sing out for, to shout for
  • đến bến hò đò trong đêm khuya: to sing out for the boat late at night at a ferry

• To call on, to urge
  • hò nhau đi đắp đê chống lụt: to urge one another to go and strengthen dykes in anticipation of floods

• To cry for
  • hò ăn: to cry for food
  • hò voi bắn súng sậy: much ado about nothing

noun

• Vietnamese chanty, work song

• Ho Hue (Hue chanty): With high lyric quality, Hue chanty is closely attached to the everyday working life. They play the O chanty with a passionate tune when treading water, mowing weed, harrowing, or following a buffalo treading on paddy. They play the Do Hay chanty with a slow and sad tune when doing some light piece of job (hashing potatoes, chopping marsh-lentil, weaving cloth, lulling a babỵ..). The Ho Bui chanty has a+reasonably fast and rythmical air: One puts forward a tune, and another responds. They play the Nen chanty when building a road or a dyke, the Nen Voi chanty when pounding lime, even the Gia Gao chanty when grinding rice... The river chanties consist of Day Nuoc (pushing water), Mai Day (played when an overloaded boat crosses a waterfall, a very fast flow or strong waves) with very lively parallel sentences, and Dua Ghe (boat race). With no sneering hints, the Mai Nhi tender chanty alluding to warm trysts and heart-rending moans is played when the weather is attractively calm. In addition, there are Ru con (lulling a baby) and Dua Linh (attending a funeral) chanties