cành thiên hương
Definition
- Noun:
- A fragrant branch from heaven: A direct, literal translation referring to a celestial or divinely-scented flower branch.
- A metaphor for a beautiful woman: A poetic and literary term used to liken a beautiful person, typically a woman, to an exquisite, heavenly-scented blossom.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong thơ ca, người ta thường ví người đẹp như một cành thiên hương. (In poetry, a beautiful woman is often compared to a cành thiên hương.)
- Nàng bước vào, dịu dàng và thanh khiết như một cành thiên hương giữa đời thường. (She entered, gentle and pure like a cành thiên hương in the mundane world.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is almost exclusively used in literary, poetic, or highly stylized descriptive contexts. It is not used in everyday conversation.
- It carries connotations of exceptional beauty, purity, grace, and a delicate, ethereal fragrance that sets the subject apart from the ordinary.
Word Origin and Notes
- Origin: A compound Sino-Vietnamese literary phrase. "Cành" means branch, "thiên" means heaven/sky, and "hương" means fragrance/scent.
- Register: Formal, literary, classical. Its usage evokes a sense of classic beauty and is often found in older poetry or romantic literature.
Synonyms
- Beauty: A person who is beautiful.
- Goddess: A female of exceptional beauty and grace.
- Flower: (Used metaphorically) A beautiful woman.
Related Concepts
- Quốc sắc thiên hương: A related, more common four-word idiom meaning "national beauty, heavenly scent," used to describe a woman of peerless, breathtaking beauty.
- Giai nhân: A beautiful woman; a belle.