Definition

1. Noun:
   • Ancestral tablet: A thin wooden (or sometimes paper, copper, or brass) plaque inscribed with the name, titles, and dates of a deceased person, used for worship in Vietnamese ancestor veneration rituals.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trên bàn thờ có đặt bài vị của ông bà tổ tiên. (The ancestral altar holds the ancestral tablets of grandparents and ancestors.)
  • Lễ an vị bài vị là một nghi thức quan trọng. (The ceremony to install the ancestral tablet is an important ritual.)
  • Bài vị thường được làm bằng gỗ thơm. (The ancestral tablet is usually made of fragrant wood.)

Advanced Usage

• "lập bài vị": to erect/establish an ancestral tablet.
  • Gia đình tổ chức lễ lập bài vị cho cụ cố. (The family held a ceremony to erect the ancestral tablet for the great-grandparent.)
• "an vị bài vị": to install/place an ancestral tablet (on the altar).
  • Sau khi làm lễ, thầy cúng sẽ an vị bài vị lên bàn thờ. (After the ceremony, the ritual master will install the ancestral tablet on the altar.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thần chủ (n): A more formal or literary term with the same meaning as "bài vị".
• Bài (n): In this specific context, can be a short form for "bài vị", though it more commonly means "card" or "lesson".

Synonyms

• Ancestral tablet: The most direct and common translation.
• Spirit tablet: A descriptive synonym emphasizing its ritual function.
• Memorial tablet: A general term for a commemorative plaque.

Related Phrases

• Bàn thờ gia tiên: Ancestral altar (the place where the "bài vị" is placed).
• Thờ cúng tổ tiên: Ancestor worship/veneration (the practice involving the "bài vị").

noun

1. Ancestral tablet