con điếm
Definition
Noun: - Prostitute; whore: A woman who engages in sexual activity for payment. This term is a direct, common, and often derogatory noun in Vietnamese. It explicitly refers to a person, specifically a woman, in the profession of sex work.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Cô ta bị mọi người khinh rẻ vì là một con điếm. (She is despised by everyone for being a prostitute.)
- Khu phố đó nổi tiếng có nhiều con điếm. (That neighborhood is famous for having many prostitutes.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "con điếm" is inherently pejorative and carries strong social stigma. It is used more in blunt, critical, or condemnatory contexts rather than in neutral or clinical discussions.
- In legal or formal social discourse, terms like "người hành nghề mại dâm" (person practicing prostitution) or "gái mại dâm" are often used as slightly less harsh alternatives, though they still refer to the same profession.
Variants and Related Words
- Gái điếm (n): A synonym for "con điếm," also meaning prostitute.
- Anh ta bị bắt khi đang đi với một gái điếm. (He was arrested while being with a prostitute.)
- Mại dâm (n): Prostitution (the profession or practice).
- Mại dâm là một vấn đề xã hội phức tạp. (Prostitution is a complex social issue.)
- Đĩ (n): A slang and highly vulgar term for a prostitute.
Synonyms
- Prostitute: A person, typically a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment.
- Whore: A derogatory term for a prostitute or a woman considered sexually promiscuous.
- Sex worker: A modern, more neutral term for someone who works in the sex industry.
Related Idioms
- Sống như con điếm: To live like a prostitute. This idiom is used to harshly criticize someone's perceived immoral or promiscuous lifestyle, not necessarily implying they are a professional sex worker.
- Sau khi bỏ nhà đi, cô ấy sống như con điếm. (After leaving home, she lived like a whore.)
noun
-
prostitute; whore