dưỡng tử

Người dưỡng tử tặng một bó hoa cho cha mẹ nuôi của mình.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Adopted son: A male child who is legally and socially taken into a family as a son, though not biologically related to the parents. This term is formal and somewhat literary or archaic in modern Vietnamese.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông ấy coi người dưỡng tử như con ruột. (He treats his adopted son as his own biological child.)
  • Câu chuyện kể về lòng hiếu thảo của một dưỡng tử. (The story tells of the filial piety of an adopted son.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "dưỡng tử" carries a classical or formal nuance and is often found in historical contexts, literature, or formal writing. In everyday conversation, "con nuôi" is the more common and neutral term for an adopted child.

Variants and Related Words

• Con nuôi (n): Adopted child. This is the standard, contemporary term.
  • Họ nhận một bé gái làm con nuôi. (They adopted a little girl.)
• Tử (n): A classical Sino-Vietnamese morpheme meaning "child" or "son," often used in formal compounds.
• Dưỡng (v/n): To nurture, to care for; nourishment.

Synonyms

• Adopted son: The direct equivalent in English.
• Foster son: May be used in some contexts, though "foster" can imply temporary or non-legal care, unlike "dưỡng tử."

Related Idioms

• While there is no common idiom directly using "dưỡng tử," the concept relates to broader themes of gratitude and familial duty, such as:
  • Ơn dưỡng dục: The debt of gratitude for being raised and nurtured.

    • Dưỡng tử không bao giờ quên ơn dưỡng dục. (An adopted son never forgets the debt of nurturing care.)