Definition

1. Noun:
   • Queen: The primary wife and consort of a king or emperor, holding the highest rank among his wives and women in the royal court. This term specifically denotes the official, principal spouse in a monarchical system.
   • Empress: In the context of an empire (e.g., Imperial Vietnam), "hoàng hậu" can be translated as empress, the wife of the emperor (hoàng đế).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Hoàng hậu mặc áo dài thêu rồng phượng. (The Queen wears an áo dài embroidered with dragons and phoenixes.)
  • Bà là hoàng hậu cuối cùng của triều Nguyễn. (She was the last empress of the Nguyễn dynasty.)
  • Hoàng hậu có nhiệm vụ hỗ trợ nhà vua và quản lý hậu cung. (The Queen has the duty to support the king and manage the royal harem.)

Advanced Usage

• The title "hoàng hậu" is often used historically and in formal contexts. In modern discussions about contemporary constitutional monarchies (e.g., the United Kingdom), the equivalent is typically "nữ hoàng" (queen regnant) or "vương hậu" (queen consort), though "hoàng hậu" remains the standard term for Vietnamese imperial history.

Variants and Related Words

• Hoàng đế (n): Emperor.
• Nữ hoàng (n): Queen regnant (a queen who rules in her own right).
• Vương hậu (n): Queen consort (a more modern or general term for a king's wife).
• Thái hậu (n): Empress dowager or queen mother (the mother of the reigning emperor/king).
• Hậu cung (n): The royal harem; the part of the palace reserved for the emperor's wives and concubines.

Synonyms

• Queen consort: The wife of a reigning king.
• Empress consort: The wife of a reigning emperor.
• Royal consort: A formal term for the spouse of a monarch.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Lên ngôi hoàng hậu: To be crowned queen/empress.
  • Bà ấy chính thức lên ngôi hoàng hậu vào năm 1802. (She was officially crowned empress in 1802.)
• Phong làm hoàng hậu: To be enfeoffed or appointed as queen/empress.
  • Bà được vua Gia Long phong làm hoàng hậu. (She was appointed empress by King Gia Long.)

1. Queen