hương thề
Definition
- Noun:
- Vow incense / Pledge incense: A piece of incense used in a ritual to solemnize a vow, oath, or pledge between individuals, often lovers. It symbolizes the sincerity and sacredness of the promise made, invoking the incense as a witness.
- Token of a vow: By extension, it refers to the vow or pledge itself, symbolized by the act of burning the incense.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Họ đốt hương thề nguyền sống chết có nhau. (They burned a vow incense, pledging to be together in life and death.)
- Hương thề năm xưa giờ đã tàn. (The pledge incense from long ago has now burned out.)
- Anh còn giữ kỷ vật là mảnh hương thề. (He still keeps the memento, a fragment of the vow incense.)
Advanced Usage
- The concept is deeply rooted in traditional Vietnamese beliefs and is often associated with romantic or deeply binding personal promises. It is more literary and poetic than colloquial.
- "Đốt hương thề": to burn incense to make a vow.
- Hai người đốt hương thề trước bàn thờ tổ tiên. (The two burned incense to make a vow before the ancestral altar.)
Variants and Related Words
- Lời thề (n): an oath, a vow (the spoken or promised content itself).
- Lời thề non hẹn biển. (A grand oath promising the mountains and the seas.)
- Thề nguyền (v): to vow, to pledge solemnly.
- Họ thề nguyền trung thành với nhau. (They vowed loyalty to each other.)
Synonyms
- Vow incense: Incense used for swearing an oath.
- Pledge token: An object symbolizing a solemn promise.
Related Idioms and Expressions
- Thề sống thề chết: To vow passionately, "to vow to live and vow to die".
- Họ thề sống thề chết không bao giờ phản bội. (They vowed passionately never to betray each other.)
- Non nước hẹn thề: To make a grand, everlasting pledge (referring to mountains and waters).
- Mối tình với những lời non nước hẹn thề. (A love with grand, everlasting pledges.)