Definition

1. Noun:
   • A boudoir; a lady's private chamber: Historically refers to the private living quarters or bedroom of a young, unmarried woman from a noble or wealthy family in feudal society. It implies a secluded, inner room.
   • The women's quarters; the inner chambers: Can more broadly refer to the private apartments or inner sections of a residence reserved for women and family life.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cô ấy thường ở trong khuê phòng đọc sách và thêu thùa. (She often stayed in her boudoir, reading books and doing embroidery.)
  • Khuê phòng của tiểu thư được trang trí rất tinh tế. (The young lady's private chamber was decorated very delicately.)
  • Trong truyện cổ, các cô gái thường chờ đợi trong khuê phòng. (In ancient stories, young women often waited in their inner chambers.)

Advanced Usage

• "Khuê phòng kín cổng cao tường": An idiom describing the strict seclusion of women in feudal times, literally "a boudoir with locked gates and high walls," meaning heavily guarded and inaccessible.
  • Cuộc sống khuê phòng kín cổng cao tường thật tù túng. (A life of seclusion behind locked gates and high walls was truly confining.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khuê các (n): A more literary or elevated term with a similar meaning, also referring to a lady's chamber or women's quarters.
• Phòng khuê (n): A less common variant with the same meaning, reversing the word order.
• Buồng the (n): A more general or poetic term for a woman's private room or bedroom.

Synonyms

• Buồng riêng: Private room.
• Gác phòng: Upper chamber/room (often for women).
• Nội thất: The inner quarters/rooms (of a house).

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Khuê phòng trinh nữ": The boudoir/chamber of a virgin/maiden.
• "Cửa khuê phòng": The door to the boudoir; used metaphorically to refer to the threshold of a woman's private world or virtue.
• "Ra khỏi khuê phòng": To leave the boudoir; historically meaning for a woman to step out of seclusion and into public or social life.

1. Bower, boudoir