Definition

1. Noun:
   • Relatives, relations, kinfolk: Refers to people connected by blood or marriage, including both close and distant family members.
   • Fellow countrymen/villagers, community members: Used to address or refer to a group of people from the same locality, village, or nation, implying a sense of shared identity and fellowship.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Relatives):
  • Anh có bà con gì với viên giám thị này hay không? (Are you any relation to this supervisor?)
  • Tôi chẳng có bà con họ hàng gì với ông ta cả. (I am no relation to him at all.)
• Noun (Community):
  • Xin bà con hãy đọc bản hiến pháp mới. (I ask you, fellow citizens, to read the new constitution.)
  • Bà con làng xóm giúp đỡ lẫn nhau. (The villagers help each other.)

Advanced Usage

• The term can function as a second-person plural pronoun in formal or communal address, equivalent to "everyone," "folks," or "compatriots."
  • Xin bà con lắng nghe. (Please listen, everyone.)
• It can denote overseas Vietnamese (Việt kiều) as part of the extended national family.
  • Bà con Việt kiều ở nước ngoài. (Our compatriots/kinfolk living overseas.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bà con họ hàng (n): Extended family, all relatives.
  • Họp mặt đông đủ bà con họ hàng. (A gathering of the full extended family.)
• Bà con lối xóm (n): Neighbors, people living in the same neighborhood.
  • Nhờ bà con lối xóm trông nhà giúp. (To ask the neighbors to watch the house.)

Synonyms

• Relatives: Family members, kin.
• Community: Compatriots, fellows, villagers.

Related Idioms

• Bà con vì tổ tiên, không phải vì tiền, vì gạo: An idiom meaning "We are relatives because of our ancestors, not because of money or rice," emphasizing that family bonds are based on shared lineage, not material gain.
• Bà con xa không bằng láng giềng gần: A proverb meaning "A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor," highlighting the practical importance of nearby community support.

noun

1. Relative, relation
   • người bà con gần / xa
     a close (near)/distant relation (relative)
   • anh có bà con gì với viên giám thị này hay không?
     are you any relation to this supervisor?
   • các anh quan hệ bà con với nhau như thế nào?
     what relation are you to each other?
   • tôi chẳng có bà con họ hàng gì với ông ta cả
     I am no relation to him
   • có quan hệ bà con gần / xa với ai
     to be closely/distantly related to somebody
2. Neighbour, fellow..
   • bà con làng xóm
     one's neighbours, one's fellow-villagers