con nhài
Definitions
- Noun:
- A female domestic servant, especially a young maid: "con nhài" refers to a young woman or girl employed to perform domestic work in a household, such as cleaning, cooking, or running errands. This term is somewhat dated and carries a connotation of a lower social status.
- A maid, a housemaid: It specifically denotes a female servant.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong câu chuyện cổ tích, cô con nhài rất chăm chỉ và tốt bụng. (In the fairy tale, the young maid was very hardworking and kind.)
- Gia đình giàu có đó thuê một con nhài để chăm sóc nhà cửa. (That wealthy family hired a maid to take care of the house.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "con nhài" is considered old-fashioned and can be perceived as slightly derogatory or indicative of a class hierarchy. In modern, more egalitarian contexts, terms like "người giúp việc" (domestic helper) or "osin" (from the Japanese loanword) are more neutral and commonly used.
- It may appear in historical novels, period dramas, or when deliberately evoking a past era.
Variants and Related Words
- Người giúp việc (n): Domestic helper. A modern, neutral term.
- Osin (n): A common contemporary term for a housekeeper or maid, borrowed from Japanese.
- Hầu gái (n): Maidservant. Similar in meaning but also somewhat dated.
- Đầy tớ (n): Servant. A more general term.
Synonyms
- Hầu gái: Maidservant.
- Người ở: Live-in servant.
- Người giúp việc nhà: Domestic worker.
Related Phrases
- Làm con nhài: To work as a maid.
- Cô ấy phải làm con nhài để kiếm sống. (She had to work as a maid to make a living.)
Related Idioms
- While there are no direct idioms with "con nhài", the concept sometimes appears in proverbs about servitude or social standing, such as implications within the phrase "con hầu, con ở" (servants and maids), referring to people of lowly status.