Definition

1. Noun:
   • Haberdashery, small wares: Refers to a collection of small, inexpensive items for sewing and personal use, such as needles, thread, buttons, ribbons, and other notions. It can also refer to the business of selling such items.
   • A haberdashery shop: A small shop or stall that sells these types of goods.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cửa hàng của bà ấy bán đủ thứ hàng xén như chỉ, khuy và ruy-băng. (Her shop sells all sorts of haberdashery like thread, buttons, and ribbons.)
  • Ngày xưa, hàng xén thường là một gánh hàng rong nhỏ. (In the old days, a haberdashery was often a small mobile vendor's stall.)

Advanced Usage

• "gánh hàng xén" / "sạp hàng xén": A haberdashery stall or a small, often mobile, setup for selling small wares.
  • Bà cụ vẫn còn giữ chiếc gánh hàng xén của mẹ bà. (The old lady still keeps her mother's haberdashery carrying pole stall.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hàng xén is a compound noun. Its components are:
  • Hàng: goods, merchandise, items for sale.
  • Xén: to trim or cut (referring to the small, cut pieces of items like ribbons or thread sold).
• Người bán hàng xén: A haberdasher; a vendor of small wares.
  • Người bán hàng xén đó rất quen thuộc với mọi người trong khu phố. (That haberdasher is very familiar to everyone in the neighborhood.)

Synonyms

• Đồ lặt vặt: Odds and ends, sundries (a more general term for small miscellaneous items).
• Hàng tạp hóa nhỏ: Small grocery/sundry items (broader, can include non-sewing items).

Related Phrases

• Buôn bán hàng xén: To trade in haberdashery.
  • Gia đình họ đã buôn bán hàng xén qua ba thế hệ. (Their family has traded in haberdashery for three generations.)

Notes on Meaning

• The term hàng xén is somewhat old-fashioned and evokes imagery of traditional small-scale vendors and markets. In modern retail, these items are more commonly found in sections labeled "sewing notions" or "haberdashery" within larger stores.
• It specifically implies small, low-cost items, not bulk fabrics or large sewing equipment.

1. haberdashery. aberdasher, small wares vendor