Definition

1. Noun (archaic):
   • Father and mother, parents: An old Vietnamese term used to refer to one's parents collectively, emphasizing both the father and mother figures.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Con cái phải có hiếu với bố cái. (Children must be filial to their parents.)
  • Trong gia đình, bố cái là người sinh thành và dưỡng dục. (In a family, parents are the ones who give birth and nurture.)

Advanced Usage

• The term 'bố cái' is considered archaic and is rarely used in modern, everyday Vietnamese. It is primarily found in classical literature, historical texts, or proverbs.
• It carries a formal and respectful tone, acknowledging both parental roles equally.

Variants and Related Words

• Bố mẹ (n): The modern, standard term for "parents."
• Song thân (n, literary): A literary term meaning "both parents."
• Phụ mẫu (n, formal): A formal term for "parents," often used in written contexts.

Synonyms

• Cha mẹ (n): Parents (a common synonym, also slightly more formal than 'bố mẹ').
• Phụ huynh (n): Parents (typically used in formal or educational contexts, e.g., 'phụ huynh học sinh' - students' parents).

Notes on Usage

• 'Bố cái' should not be confused with the separate, modern words 'bố' (father) and 'cái' (a classifier or meaning "female"). In this compound, it is a fixed, inseparable term.
• Its usage today might be intentional to evoke a classical, poetic, or proverbial feeling. For example, it might appear in the saying (A father's merit is like Mount Tai, A mother's love is like water flowing from its source), though the saying itself uses 'cha' and 'mẹ'.

1. (từ cũ, nghĩa cũ) Father and mother, parents