Definition

1. Verb phrase (colloquial, often pejorative):
   • To be pregnant out of wedlock. This describes a woman, typically unmarried, who becomes pregnant. The phrase carries a strong traditional social stigma, implying moral transgression.
   • To be made pregnant by a lover (for a married woman). In this context, it refers to a married woman becoming pregnant by a man who is not her husband, implying adultery.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Cô ấy bị gia đình đuổi đi vì chửa hoang. (Her family chased her away for being pregnant out of wedlock.)
  • Người ta đồn cô ta chửa hoang với người đàn ông hàng xóm. (People rumored she was made pregnant by the neighbor man.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in a judgmental or descriptive social context, highlighting the violation of traditional family norms. It is not a neutral medical term.

Variants and Related Words

• Gái chửa hoang / con gái chửa hoang (n): An unmarried pregnant woman; a term for a single mother in a stigmatizing context.
  • Hồi đó, gái chửa hoang thường bị làng xóm khinh rẻ. (In the past, unmarried pregnant women were often despised by the community.)

Synonyms

• To be pregnant out of wedlock: The standard neutral English equivalent.
• To be illegitimately pregnant: A more formal synonym.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Mang bầu hoang / Có bầu hoang: Less common variants with the same meaning as "chửa hoang."
  • Chuyện cô ấy mang bầu hoang đã gây xôn xao cả làng. (The news of her illegitimate pregnancy stirred up the whole village.)

1. To be got into trouble (gái chưa chồng), to be made pregnant by a
   • lover (đàn bà có chồng)