bậc thang
Definitions
- Noun:
- Step, stair: A single flat surface in a series that allows movement from one level to another, typically in a staircase or on a slope.
- Tier, level, echelon: A stage or rank in a hierarchical system, such as in a career, social status, or progression.
- Terrace (in agriculture): A flat, step-like area cut into a hillside for farming, preventing soil erosion.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Cầu thang này có 20 bậc thang. (This staircase has 20 steps.)
- Anh ấy đã leo lên những bậc thang danh vọng một cách nhanh chóng. (He quickly climbed the echelons of fame.)
- Những thửa ruộng bậc thang ở Sa Pa rất đẹp. (The terraced fields in Sa Pa are very beautiful.)
Advanced Usage
- "bậc thang xã hội": social ladder/stratum.
- Ông ấy nghiên cứu về sự di chuyển giữa các bậc thang xã hội. (He studies mobility between social strata.)
- "bậc thang giá trị": scale of values, value tier.
- Sản phẩm này nhắm đến bậc thang giá trị cao cấp. (This product targets the premium value tier.)
Variants and Related Words
- Bậc (n): Can be used alone to mean "step", "grade", or "class". Often part of compound words.
- bậc thầy (master, expert)
- bậc cửa (doorstep)
- bậc lương (salary grade)
- Thang (n): Ladder. While "thang" alone means "ladder", in "bậc thang" it combines with "bậc" to specifically mean the steps themselves.
- thang máy (elevator/lift)
- thang gác (loft ladder)
Synonyms
- Bước (n): Step (more general, can mean a footstep or a stage in a process).
- Nấc (n): Notch, rung (often used for ladder rungs or metaphorical levels, e.g., – synonym for ).
- Tầng (n): Floor, layer, tier (refers to a whole level, not an individual step).
- Cấp (n): Level, rank, grade (used for administrative or hierarchical levels).
Related Phrases (No direct phrasal verb equivalent in Vietnamese)
- Leo lên từng bậc thang: To climb step by step (to advance gradually).
- Cô ấy leo lên từng bậc thang trong sự nghiệp. (She climbed the career ladder step by step.)
- Bước lên bậc thang: To step onto a step (literal) or to enter a new level (figurative).
- Bước lên bậc thang đầu tiên của sự thành công. (To step onto the first rung of success.)
Related Idioms
- "Bậc thang cuộc đời": The ladder of life (metaphor for life's stages or social progression).
- Ai cũng phải trải qua những bậc thang cuộc đời. (Everyone must go through the stages of life.)
- "Ở bậc thang dưới": To be on a lower rung/level (socially, economically).
- Những người ở bậc thang dưới cần nhiều sự hỗ trợ hơn. (Those on the lower rungs need more support.)