Definition

1. Noun:
   • The common people, the masses: Historically refers to ordinary, low-status people in feudal or pre-modern Vietnamese society.
   • A member of the common populace; a plebeian: An individual belonging to this lower social class.
   • (Archaic, often derogatory) The rabble; a simpleton, a gullible person: Used to describe people considered ignorant, easily deceived, or of low social standing.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong xã hội phong kiến, con đen thường phải chịu nhiều thiệt thòi. (In feudal society, the common people often had to endure many disadvantages.)
  • Những kẻ quyền thế thường coi thường con đen. (The powerful often look down on the rabble.)
  • Lời nói đó chỉ để lừa phỉnh những con đen mà thôi. (That talk is only meant to deceive the gullible.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đánh lận con đen": To cheat simple folk; to deceive the gullible public through trickery or semantic sleight of hand.
  • Chính sách mập mờ đó thực chất là để đánh lận con đen. (That ambiguous policy is essentially meant to deceive the gullible masses.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dân đen (n): A synonym with the same meaning as "con đen," referring to the common, black-clad populace.
  • Quan lại chỉ lo bóc lột dân đen. (The mandarins only cared about exploiting the common people.)
• Bạch đinh (n, historical): A historical term for commoners, ordinary citizens (literally "white commoner," contrasting with "con đen").

Synonyms

• Thường dân: Commoner.
• Bình dân: The common people, the populace.
• Dân chúng: The masses, the public.

Notes on Usage

• The term "con đen" is now considered archaic and derogatory. Its use in modern Vietnamese is typically limited to historical contexts, literary works, or fixed expressions like "đánh lận con đen."
• It reflects a historical class distinction where "con đen" (wearing black, common clothes) was contrasted with the ruling class ("quan lại," mandarins) and educated elite.
• Using this term to refer to people in contemporary settings is inappropriate and offensive.

1. The rabble, member of the rabble