Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Folk; of the people; popular: Relating to the traditional beliefs, customs, stories, and art of the ordinary people of a country or region, typically passed down through generations by word of mouth or practice, rather than through formal institutions.
   • Among the populace; widespread among the masses: Existing or circulating within the general population.

2. Noun (contextual):

   • The folk; the populace; the masses: Refers to the collective body of common people in a society, especially as the originators and bearers of traditional culture.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Truyện cổ tích lưu truyền trong dân gian. (Folk tales are handed down among the people.)
  • Nghệ thuật dân gian Việt Nam rất phong phú. (Vietnamese folk art is very rich.)
  • Tin đồn lan truyền khắp dân gian. (The rumor spread throughout the populace.)

• Noun (contextual):

  • Câu chuyện đó bắt nguồn từ dân gian. (That story originates from the folk.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to form compound terms describing cultural products:
  • "văn học dân gian": folk literature.
  • "tri thức dân gian": folk knowledge.
  • "y học dân gian": folk medicine.

Variants and Related Words

• Dân gian học (n): Folklore studies; the academic study of folk traditions.
• Tính dân gian (n): The folk character or quality of something.

Synonyms

• Folk (adj): Of the common people and their traditions.
• Popular (adj): Suited to or originating from the general public.
• Traditional (adj): Long-established practices passed down within a community.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Lưu truyền trong dân gian: To be handed down/circulated among the people.
  • Những bài hát đó lưu truyền trong dân gian hàng trăm năm. (Those songs have been handed down among the people for hundreds of years.)
• Theo truyền thuyết dân gian: According to folk legend.
  • Theo truyền thuyết dân gian, nơi đây có một vị thần bảo vệ. (According to folk legend, a protective deity resides here.)

1. Broad masses (of the people)
   • Tin đồn tryuền khắp dân gian
     The rumour spread among the masses of the people
   • Truyện cổ tích lưu truyền trong dân gian
     A legend handed down from generation to generation among the broad masses of the people, a folk tale
2. Popular, folk
   • Thơ ca dân gian
     Popular poetry, folk poetry
   • Nghệ thuật dân gian
     Folk art