Definition

Noun: * Twenty-cent coin: An obsolete Vietnamese currency unit, a coin worth twenty cents (xu). This term belongs to the old monetary system of French Indochina and is no longer in use.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong bộ sưu tập của ông có một đồng hào ván còn rất mới. (His collection contains a twenty-cent coin that is still very new.)
  • Giá quyển sách này ngày xưa chỉ khoảng một hào ván. (The price of this book back in the day was only about twenty cents.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is exclusively used in historical or numismatic (coin-collecting) contexts. It is not used in modern, everyday language to discuss current money.
• It can be used descriptively to evoke a past era or to indicate a very small amount of money from the past.
  • Câu chuyện xảy ra vào thời mà một hào ván có thể mua được bữa ăn. (The story took place in a time when twenty cents could buy a meal.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hào: A larger, more common obsolete unit. One "hào" (dime/ten cents) was equal to ten "xu", and ten "hào" equaled one "đồng" (piastre).
• Xu: The smallest unit of the old currency. One "hào ván" (twenty cents) was equal to twenty "xu".
• Đồng bạc / Piastre: The main currency unit, equivalent to 100 xu or 10 hào.

Synonyms

• Twenty-cent piece: A direct English translation describing the coin's value.
• Obsolete twenty-cent coin: A more descriptive synonym emphasizing it is no longer legal tender.

Notes on Meaning

• The term "hào ván" is a compound of "hào" (a ten-cent unit) and "ván". The exact origin of "ván" in this context is unclear but it specifically denotes the twenty-cent denomination. It is crucial to treat "hào ván" as a single, fixed lexical unit for the 20-cent coin, and not to interpret "ván" separately in modern usage.
• This term reflects the pre-1978 Vietnamese currency system, which was based on the French Indochinese piastre.

1. (từ cũ; nghĩa cũ) Twenty-cent coin