Definition

1. Noun:
   • The "six-eight" verse form: A traditional Vietnamese poetic meter characterized by an alternating pattern of a six-word line followed by an eight-word line. This structure is fundamental to much of Vietnam's folk poetry and classic literary works.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Truyện Kiều được viết theo thể lục bát. (The Tale of Kieu is written in the "six-eight" verse form.)
  • Thơ lục bát có nhịp điệu rất êm đềm. ("Six-eight" poetry has a very gentle rhythm.)
  • Bà tôi thường kể chuyện bằng những câu lục bát. (My grandmother often tells stories using "six-eight" verses.)

Advanced Usage

• The lục bát form has specific rules for tone placement and rhyme. The sixth word of the six-word line rhymes with the sixth word of the eight-word line, and the eighth word of the eight-word line then rhymes with the sixth word of the next six-word line, creating an interlocking chain.

Variants and Related Words

• Thể thơ lục bát (n): The "six-eight" poetic form. This is a more formal term for the same concept.
• Câu lục (n): The six-word line within a lục bát couplet.
• Câu bát (n): The eight-word line within a lục bát couplet.

Synonyms

• Six-eight meter: A direct English translation describing the alternating line structure.
• Traditional Vietnamese verse: A general term that often implies the lục bát form.

Related Idioms

• While there are no direct idioms using the word lục bát, the form itself is so culturally ingrained that saying something is (like "six-eight" poetry) can imply it is melodious, balanced, and traditionally Vietnamese.

1. sin-word verse followed by an eight-word distich metre,sin-eight-word distich metre
   • Truyện kiều viết theo thể lục bát
     kieu was written in the sin-eight-word distich metre