Homonyms


Người học tiếng Anh chắc chắn sẽ phải chú ý đến những từ cùng âm nhưng khác nghĩa, những từ phát âm giống nhau nhưng nghĩa hoàn toàn khác nhau, hoặc cũng có khi chỉ thay đổi vị trí nhấn âm khi đọc cùng một từ nhưng cho nghĩa (thường là từ loại) khác nhau. Nói chung, chúng ta có thể phân biệt sự khác nhau này một cách tương đối. Có nghĩa, bạn phải học và nhớ một số trường hợp đặc biệt. Bài này sẽ bàn về một số trường hợp phổ biến của nội dung này.

Nội dung

What is a homophone?
>> Examples
What is a homograph?
>> Examples
What is a homonym?
>> Examples
List of common homophones
List of common homographs
List of common homonyms
Tài liệu tham khảo

What is a homophone (Từ đồng âm)

A Homophone is a word that has the same pronunciation and spelling, but has different meanings.  
Homophone (còn gọi là từ đồng âm) là từ mà phát âm (pronounce) và đánh vần (spell) giống nhau nhưng có nghĩa khác nhau.

The –phone ending means sound or voice, so a homophone has the same pronunciation.
- phone ở cuối có nghĩa là âm hoặc tiếng nói, vì thế homophone có nghĩa là phát âm giống nhau. 

Examples

Please try not to (waste, waist) paper.
to/two/too
there/their/they're
pray/prey


What is a homograph?


homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another word but has a different sound and a different meaning
Homograph là từ mà đánh vần giống nhau nhưng nghĩa của nó có thể giống nhau hoặc khác nhau.
The ending –graph means drawn or written, so a homograph has the same spelling.
- graph ở cuối có nghĩa là vẽ hoặc viết vì thế homograph có nghĩa là đánh vần giống nhau.

Examples

The dove is a white bird.
He dove into the pool.
lead (to go in front of)/lead (a metal)
wind (to follow a course that is not straight)/wind (a gust of air)
bass (low, deep sound)/bass (a type of fish)

Xem bảng tóm tắt dưới đây


What is a homonym? (Đồng âm)

Depending on whom you talk to, homonym means either:
A word that is spelled like another but has a different sound and meaning (homograph); a word that sounds like another but has a different spelling and meaning (homophone)
OR A word that is spelled and pronounced like another but has a different meaning (homograph and homophone)

Phụ thuộc vào người nói, homonym có nghĩa là:
Là từ mà được đánh vần như nhau nhưng có một âm khác nhau và có nghĩa khác nhau (homograph); Là một từ mà có âm như nhau nhưng đánh vần và có nghĩa khác nhau (homophone) 
HOẶC Là từ mà có đánh vần và phát âm như nhau nhưng có nghĩa khác nhau (homograph và homophone)
homonym is one of a group of words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings, whether spelled the same or not.

Examples

I hope you are not lying to me.
My books are lying on the table.
Như vậy, Homonym gồm cả homograph và homophone hoặc có thể chỉ có một, nó phụ thuộc vào người yêu cầu. Theo nghĩa chặt chẽ, một đồng âm phải có cả một homograph và một homophone. Tuy nhiên theo nhiều nguồn từ điển, có nguồn từ điển cho phép có một đồng âm có thể là một homograph hoặc có thể là một từ đồng âm (homophone)

Common examples of homophones

Chúng tôi sẽ giới thiệu cho các bạn một số các từ đồng âm phổ biến nhất. Có quá nhiều trong tất cả nhưng các ví dụ này ít nhất giúp các bạn như một lời cảnh báo rằng ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh có rất nhiều cạm bẫy cho bạn phải nhận thức được.

To/ Too/ Two
To – used in the infinitive form of a verb, such as “to walk”, and also to mean “towards”.
Too – this means “as well” or “also”; for example, “me too”.
Two – this is the number; for example, “two days ago”.

There/ Their/They're
There – this refers to a place that is not here; for instance, “over there”. It can also be used to state something, such as “There is an argument to suggest…”, or (in a slightly old-fashioned way) to comfort someone: “There there, it will be alright.”
Their – this indicates possession: something belonging to them. For example, “we could use their boat”.
They’re – this is a shortening of “they are”. For example, “They’re going to be here at 12pm”.

Your/ You're
Your – this is the second person possessive form, indicating something belonging to you. For example, “This is your decision.”
You’re – short for “you are”, as in “You’re amazing.”
By/Buy/Bye
By – this preposition refers to something beside, near or through. For example, “There’s an ice cream van over there by that tree.”
Buy – this is a verb meaning to purchase something. For instance, “let’s go and buy a car.”
Bye – short for “goodbye”, this is an expression used to bid someone farewell. Real grammar sticklers would probably insist on using an apostrophe at the beginning to indicate the absence of the word “good” – that is, “’bye” – but this is old-fashioned, so you don’t need to include one.
Stationary/Stationery
Stationary – this word is used to describe something that is motionless (not moving). For example, “the cars were stationary in the traffic jam.”
Stationery – pens, pencils and other things you write with or on, for use in the office or when studying.

Compliment/Complement
Compliment – this is a nice thing you say to someone to flatter them, for example, “You look nice today.” The adjective of this is “complimentary”, which has two meanings. It can refer to something expressing praise – such as “He was most complimentary, saying how pretty I looked.” But just to add to the confusion, “complimentary” can also mean “free of charge”. For example, “the airline provided complimentary drinks for those delayed”.
Complement – this is something that goes well with something else. For example, “the dress complemented the colour of her hair.” The adjective form is “complementary”, meaning things that go together, used as follows: “The two of them provided complementary skills; he was good at writing, while she was good at sales.”
Brake/Break
Brake – this spelling refers to the brakes on a car or other vehicle, and in a wider sense to slowing down. For example, “He applied the brakes to slow the car down.”
Break – confusingly, this spelling this has several meanings.
○ As a verb, “to break” means to separate something into parts. For example, “I’m going to break this chocolate bar into three so we can share.”
○ As a noun, it can be used to signify a pause or stop, such as “a break in the schedule”, or you can “take a break”, meaning have some time off.
○ You can also use the word to describe the consequences of the verb – when you “break” something, it is “broken” and the site of the separation can be referred to as “the break”. For instance, “He broke his leg, but the break is mending.”
Course/Coarse
Course – this has many meanings.
○ A course is what we offer here at Oxford Royale Academy – a programme of educational study.
○ “Of course” means “naturally”. For example, “Would you like a chocolate?” – “Of course!”
○ It can also mean “direction”; for instance, an “unexpected course of events” describes events unfolding in an unanticipated direction. You could also say, “I don’t know what course of action to take”, or “The plane took a northerly course.”
○ In sport, it describes an area of land or water set aside for the purpose of a particular activity, such as a “golf course”, “water skiing course” or “cross country course”.
○ Another context in which you might hear this word is to describe parts of a meal. For instance, the “main course” is the most substantial part of the meal.
○ Less often heard is the use of this word to describe hunting with dogs, such as “hare coursing”.
○ As a verb, “to course” refers to the movement of liquid, such as “water coursing through a channel”.
Coarse – this word is used to describe things that are rough or crude. This could be rough in texture – as in “sandpaper is very coarse” – or to describe language, such as “His humour was very coarse.”
Here/ Hear
Here – this refers to something being in one’s current location – for example, “There is a strange smell here”. You can also use it when introducing something, such as “Here is something I know you’ll like.”
Hear – this means to detect a sound. If it helps you remember it, consider the fact that the word “hear” contains the word “ear”! You can also say “Hear, hear” to indicate that you agree with someone. This bizarre phrase is a shortened form of a 17th century phrase used in Parliament, “Hear him, hear him”.

Peace/Piece
Peace – this is the absence of war, as referred to by Lennon in 1969. The word also refers more generally to a feeling of contentment, for example “The woods were very peaceful.”
Piece – spelled this way, the word means a unit or portion of something, such as “a piece of cake”. To “say your piece” means to state your opinion about something, while “giving someone a piece of your mind” means to tell them – usually in anger – exactly what you think of a situation.
Whole/ Hole
Whole – this means “complete” or “entire” – used as in “the whole story”.
Hole – a “hole” indicates a lack of something, as in an opening. For example, the hole in a ring doughnut is the missing bit in the middle, while a “Black Hole” is an invisible area of space that appears to have nothing in it, because its gravity prevents even light from escaping.
Stare/Stair
Stare – the verb “to stare” refers to the act of gazing intently at something. As a noun, it refers to the look itself – for example “a long, cold stare”.
Stair – this refers to a single step, or one of a number of steps, used to connect two different levels, with variants including “staircase” (the complete set of steps), “stairway” (the steps and their surrounding walls), “stairwell” (the shaft occupied by the staircase), “downstairs” (the bottom level) and “upstairs” (the upper level).
Know/No
Know – “to know” means “to be aware of something”; for example, “I know he is afraid.” The K at the beginning is one of a number of instances in the English language of a silent K, so it’s pronounced in exactly the same way as “no” – even though if you take the K off, you have the word “now”, which is pronounced in a way that rhymes it with “how”. Just another example of unexpected exceptions to English language rules!
No – the opposite of “yes”, used to indicate the negative. Bizarrely, “no.” – with a full stop after it – is also used to abbreviate the word “number”. For example, “No. of pages: 150.”
Raise/Rays/Rase/Raze/Rehs/Réis/Res
Raise – to lift something up
Rays – sunbeams
Rase – to erase something
Raze – to knock something down
Rehs – sodium salt mixtures
Réis – plural of real (the currency of Portugal and Brazil)
Res – plural of re, as in the musical scale (doh re mi, for fans of The Sound of Music)

List of common homographs

Dưới đây là một số từ homograph phổ biến:
Word Example of first meaning
(verb)
Example of second meaning
(noun)/(adjective)
bear to support carry bear: the animal
lead the mother duck will lead her duckling around gold is heavier than lead
close  will you please close the door the tiger was now so close that I could smell it.
wind Wind your watch The wind howled through the woodlands
minute I will be there in a minute That is a very minute amount
conduct I will conduct business as usual on Friday despite the  federal holiday The conduct of the secret service personal in Columbia was unacceptable.
conflict I am afraid that our meeting will conflict with the arrival of our partners, so we will have to reschedule Peace negotiations have not led to any resolution of the conflict.
decrease birth rates around the world have decreased in the last several decaedes. The decrease we have seen in sales is a result of the nation's economy slowing down.
increase As the baby boomer generation grows old, the demand for nurses has increased, along with the demand for health care The dramatic increase in China's exports worries many politicians and business men alike.
object surprisingly, the citizens did not object to the increase in taxes. we saw dozens of tiny glass objects in the store arranged neatly in a row.
permit The law permits drivers to make a right turn on a red traffic light. Teenagers who work on family farms in the US can acquire a special driving permit that allows them to operate vehicles at 13 yrs.
present We will present our findings to the committee next week. In our family we exchange presents on Christmas Eve.
project Economists project that the employment rates will rise by June Our nonprofit organization has recently submitted a proposal to acquire a development project in Angola.
record the detectives recorded incriminating conversations with a simple wire tap. The physician's office has converted all hard copy records to digital files.
recall I can not recall the final numbers right now, so I'll call you right back. Management has announced a recall of all meat products to the E.coli outbreak.
absent to absent yourself (not to go to a place where one is expected to be) absent : not present (adj)
accent accent: to emphasize  accent: is the way people in a particular area speak.
addict to cause someone to become addicted is a person addicted to something such as heroin
address to direct a speech to someone is the name of the place where you live
attribute to express that something was created be someone is a characteristic of something
combine to bring together is a shorter name for a " combine harvester"
compact to compress there is a distinction between (adj), meaning including many things in a small space
construct to build something constructed, a concept
export to sell goods to a foreign country is something that is exported
extract to get something out of something else is something extracted
impact to affect is a forceful collision
implant to fix firmly/ to insert into the body is something surgically implanted in the body.
insult to offend someone is an action intended to be rude
progress to advance a development of something
discount They discounted the theories Is there a discount on this?
refund We'll refund you 50% I'd like a refund please
protest They're protesting against cuts There's a student protest today.
invite They invited us to their house I received an invite to her party.
update We're updating our files We're got some updates for you.
upgrade It's time to upgrade our computer. They got an upgrade on the flight.
survey They surveyed over 1000 people Let's do a customer survey to find out
contrast He contrasted the two pictures There's a big contrast between you two
contract The economy is contracting Have you signed the contract
desert The soldiers deserted their post They went travelling in the Sahara desert.
refuse He refused permission The refuse collectors are on strike.

List of common homonyms

Tài liệu tham khảo

  1. Homophones: the Most Confusing Words in English
  2. 10 Examples of how STRESS can change the meaning or part of speech of a word
  3. Change the stress, change the meaning: 35 words that change meaning
  4. English words that change their meaning depending on stress position
  5. Noun and verb syllable stress

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