giấy tiền
Definition
- Noun:
- Joss paper / Spirit money: Paper printed with designs resembling coins, banknotes, or other valuable items, which is burned as an offering to ancestors or spirits in traditional Vietnamese and East Asian rituals.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Vào ngày rằm, gia đình tôi thường đốt giấy tiền để cúng ông bà. (On the full moon day, my family often burns joss paper to worship our grandparents.)
- Cửa hàng bán rất nhiều loại giấy tiền vàng mã. (The shop sells many types of spirit money and votive papers.)
Advanced Usage
- The practice of burning giấy tiền is based on the belief that the smoke carries these symbolic items to the spirit world, providing the deceased with wealth and necessities.
- It is a key element in ceremonies like cúng rằm (full moon worship), cúng giỗ (death anniversary worship), and Tết (Lunar New Year).
Variants and Related Words
- Vàng mã (n): A broader term for votive offerings, often including paper replicas of clothes, houses, and other goods, not just money.
- Tiền âm phủ (n): Literally "underworld money"; another common term for spirit money.
Synonyms
- Spirit money
- Ghost money
- Hell bank notes
- Joss paper (though this can also refer to plain paper used in rituals)
Related Cultural Context
- Đốt giấy tiền (v): The act of burning joss paper as an offering.
- Việc đốt giấy tiền là một phần của nghi lễ truyền thống. (Burning joss paper is part of the traditional ritual.)