Definition

Noun: 1. Backstage (of a theater, performance venue): The area behind the stage, including dressing rooms and wings, not visible to the audience, where performers prepare and technical operations are managed. 2. Behind the scenes (of any activity, especially politics or business): The hidden, non-public aspects of an event, organization, or process where secret planning, negotiations, or real activities occur.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Literal - Theater):
  • Các diễn viên đang trang điểm ở hậu trường. (The actors are putting on makeup backstage.)
  • Chỉ có nhân viên mới được phép vào khu vực hậu trường. (Only staff are allowed in the backstage area.)
• Noun (Figurative - General):
  • Báo chí tiết lộ những thỏa thuận hậu trường của vụ sáp nhập. (The press revealed the behind-the-scenes agreements of the merger.)
  • Anh ấy là người có ảnh hưởng lớn trong hậu trường chính trị. (He is a person of great influence behind the scenes of politics.)

Advanced Usage

• "hoạt động hậu trường": to operate/act behind the scenes.
  • Họ đã hoạt động hậu trường để đạt được thỏa thuận. (They operated behind the scenes to reach the agreement.)
• "câu chuyện hậu trường": the backstory; the behind-the-scenes story.
  • Cuốn sách kể về câu chuyện hậu trường của bộ phim. (The book tells the behind-the-scenes story of the movie.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hậu (prefix/noun): Meaning "rear", "back", or "after". It is a component in many compound words indicating something that comes after or is behind (e.g., - rear area/home front, - consequence).
• Trường (noun): Meaning "field", "ground", or "venue". It is a component in words indicating a place or arena of activity (e.g., - stage, - battlefield).
• Cánh gà (noun - Theater slang): Literally "chicken wing", this is a colloquial term for the wings (the sides of the stage hidden from the audience), which are part of the .

Synonyms

• Hậu cảnh (noun): Background, backdrop. More commonly used for visual settings (e.g., in photos, paintings) but can sometimes overlap in figurative use.
• Bí mật (adj/adv): Secret, secretly. Describes the hidden nature of activities.
• Bên trong (noun/phrase): The inside. Can refer to internal, non-public workings.

Related Phrases

• Sân khấu (noun): The stage. This is the antonymous concept to in its literal sense.
• Công khai (adj/adv): Public, openly. This is the opposite mode of operation to activities.

Related Idioms

• "Giật dây hậu trường": To pull the strings from behind the scenes.
  • Nhiều người tin rằng ông ta là người giật dây hậu trường. (Many believe he is the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes.)

noun

1. backstage