Definition

1. Noun:
   • Friends, companions: "bạn bầy" refers to a group of friends or companions, people who share a close relationship and often spend time together. This term is now considered old-fashioned and is rarely used in modern Vietnamese.

Usage

• The word "bạn bầy" is an archaic and rarely used synonym for the common modern word "bạn bè" (friends). It should only be used when aiming for a very specific, historical, or literary stylistic effect. In everyday conversation and writing, "bạn bè" is the correct and natural choice.

Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong các tác phẩm văn học cổ, ta thường gặp từ "bạn bầy". (In old literary works, we often encounter the word "bạn bầy".)
  • Ông ấy có một nhóm bạn bầy thân thiết từ thuở nhỏ. (He had a close group of friends from childhood.) [Note: This sentence uses the archaic term for stylistic purposes.]

Advanced Usage

• The term "bạn bầy" might appear in poetry, proverbs, or historical texts to evoke a sense of the past or to maintain a specific rhythmic or rhyming structure. Its usage today is primarily restricted to such contexts or when quoting older material.

Variants and Related Words

• Bạn bè (n): The standard, modern word for "friends".
  • Tôi đi chơi với bạn bè. (I go out with friends.)
• Bạn (n): Friend. A simpler, more general term.
• Bầy bạn (n, archaic): Another old-fashioned variant with a similar meaning, also rarely used.

Synonyms

• Bạn hữu (n, formal/literary): Friends, comrades.
• Bằng hữu (n, literary): Friends, companions (often used in formal or classical contexts).

Notes on Meaning

• "Bạn bầy" carries the same core meaning as "bạn bè"—a collective of friends. The key difference is purely stylistic and temporal. It does not have different or additional meanings compared to its modern counterpart.

1. (cũ; ít dùng) như bạn bè