Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To ask for a girl's hand in marriage (from her parents or guardians): Refers to the traditional Vietnamese custom where a man or his family formally requests permission from a woman's family to marry her. This is a key step in the traditional Vietnamese wedding process, often involving a formal ceremony and the exchange of gifts.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Gia đình anh ấy đã đến hỏi vợ cho anh vào tuần trước. (His family went to ask for his bride's hand last week.)
  • Theo phong tục, nhà trai phải chuẩn bị lễ vật để đi hỏi vợ. (According to custom, the groom's family must prepare gifts to go and ask for the bride's hand.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đi hỏi vợ": To go and ask for a girl's hand (emphasizes the action of going to the bride's family home).
  • Ông bà tôi vẫn kể chuyện ngày xưa ông nội tôi đi hỏi vợ bà nội. (My grandparents still tell the story of the day my grandfather went to ask for my grandmother's hand.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hỏi cưới (verb phrase): A subsequent or combined stage that involves both the proposal ("hỏi") and the formal betrothal/engagement ("cưới"). It is a more comprehensive term for the traditional marriage proposal process.
• Dạm ngõ (verb phrase): The initial, informal visit by the groom's family to the bride's family to express intent and learn about each other, often occurring before the formal "hỏi vợ" ceremony.

Synonyms

• Cầu hôn (verb): To propose marriage. (Note: "Cầu hôn" is a more modern, general term for proposing, often used for the act between the couple themselves, while "hỏi vợ" is a specific cultural practice involving the families.)
• Xin cưới (verb phrase): To ask to marry.

Related Phrases

• Lễ hỏi (noun): The formal "asking ceremony" or engagement ceremony itself.
  • Lễ hỏi sẽ được tổ chức tại nhà cô dâu. (The engagement ceremony will be held at the bride's house.)

Related Idioms

• Trai lớn lấy vợ, gái lớn gả chồng: (Men grow up and take wives, women grow up and are given in marriage.) A saying reflecting traditional marital customs, where "hỏi vợ" is the expected path for the man's family.

1. Ask for a girl's hand (from her parents...)
   • Đi hỏi vợ cho con
     To go and ask for a girl's hand for one's son