lệ dân
Definition
- Noun:
- A commoner; a plebeian: A person who is not of noble birth or aristocratic rank; an ordinary citizen within a traditional or historical social hierarchy.
- A subject; a ruled person: An individual under the authority and rule of a monarch, lord, or governing power.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong xã hội phong kiến, lệ dân phải nộp tô thuế cho địa chủ. (In feudal society, commoners had to pay taxes to the landowners.)
- Lệnh của vua áp dụng cho tất cả lệ dân. (The king's order applied to all his subjects.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "lệ dân" is primarily used in historical, literary, or formal contexts to describe social status in pre-modern societies, such as feudal or monarchical systems. It is rarely used in contemporary everyday language.
Variants and Related Words
Thần dân (n): Subject (of a monarch). Often implies a more direct relationship of allegiance to a sovereign than "lệ dân."
- Các thần dân trung thành với nhà vua. (The loyal subjects were devoted to the king.)
Bình dân (n): Common people; the masses. Refers to ordinary people in a general social sense, without the specific connotation of being under a ruler's direct authority.
- Văn hóa bình dân rất phong phú. (Folk culture is very rich.)
Synonyms
- Commoner: A person without noble rank.
- Plebeian: A member of the common people (especially in ancient Rome).
- Subject: A person owing allegiance to a monarch or state.
Related Idioms
- Phận lệ dân: The lot or status of a common subject. This phrase emphasizes the predetermined, often lowly, social position of an ordinary person under rule.
- Ông ta an phận với phận lệ dân của mình. (He was content with his lot as a common subject.)