Definition

1. Noun:

   • A go-between, an intermediary: A person who acts as an intermediary or agent, especially in arranging deals, marriages, or connections between two parties.
   • A matchmaker: Specifically, a person who arranges or facilitates marriages or romantic relationships.

2. Verb:

   • To act as a go-between: To serve as an intermediary or agent in a transaction or arrangement.
   • To act as a matchmaker: To arrange or facilitate a marriage or romantic match.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Ông ấy là một mối lái giỏi trong ngành bất động sản. (He is a skilled go-between in the real estate industry.)
  • Nhờ có mối lái mà họ đã kết hôn. (Thanks to the matchmaker, they got married.)

• Verb:

  • Bà ấy thích mối lái cho bạn bè. (She likes to act as a matchmaker for her friends.)
  • Anh ta mối lái một vụ mua bán lớn. (He acted as a go-between for a major sale.)

Advanced Usage

• "Làm mối lái": To work as a go-between/matchmaker. This phrase emphasizes the action.
  • Công việc của cô ấy là làm mối lái cho các doanh nghiệp. (Her job is to work as a go-between for businesses.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mối (n): A broker, agent, or intermediary. Often used in compounds (e.g., mối tình - romance; mối hàng - business connection). "Mối lái" is a more specific term.
• Lái (v): To steer, to drive, to pilot. In "mối lái", it contributes the sense of guiding or steering a deal or match.
• Ông/Bà mối (n): A (male/female) matchmaker, a more common and colloquial term for a marriage broker.

Synonyms

• Người trung gian (n): Intermediary, middleman.
• Người mai mối (n): Matchmaker (specifically for marriages).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a verb, "mối lái" itself functions as a phrase. Related verbal phrases often use "làm mối". - Làm mối: To matchmake, to broker. - Bà cụ thường làm mối cho các cặp đôi trong làng. (The old lady often matchmakes for couples in the village.)

Related Idioms

• "Khéo thay mối lái cũng đòi": An idiom (from a folk poem) praising a clever and demanding matchmaker. It highlights the skill and assertiveness sometimes associated with the role.
  • Câu chuyện đó minh họa cho câu "Khéo thay mối lái cũng đòi". (That story illustrates the saying "How clever, the matchmaker also makes demands.")

1. Act as a go-between, act as a matchmakers