Definition

Noun: - The common people, the masses: Refers to the general populace, the ordinary people, especially in a historical or feudal context. It is an older, literary term.

Usage

• The term bách tính is used to refer collectively to the common people in society. It often carries a historical connotation, typically used when discussing feudal times or in literary contexts to denote the general populace as opposed to the ruling class or aristocracy.
• It is a formal and somewhat archaic term in modern Vietnamese.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong xã hội phong kiến, bách tính thường phải chịu nhiều áp bức. (In feudal society, the common people often suffered much oppression.)
  • Chính sách mới mang lại lợi ích cho bách tính. (The new policy brings benefits to the masses.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often found in historical narratives, classical literature, or formal writings to evoke a sense of the past or to refer to the populace in a general, collective sense.

Variants and Related Words

• Bá tánh (noun): A more colloquial and modern southern Vietnamese variant of "bách tính," also meaning "the common people" or "everyone." It is commonly used in everyday speech in Southern Vietnam.
  • Chuyện này bá tánh đều biết rồi. (Everyone knows about this already.)

Synonyms

• Quần chúng (noun): The masses, the populace.
• Nhân dân (noun): The people.
• Dân chúng (noun): The public, the common people.

Related Idioms

• While bách tính itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is the core concept in classical phrases describing the relationship between the ruler and the ruled, such as the idea of "an dân" (pacifying the people) or "lòng dân" (the will of the people).

noun

1. The common people, the masses