minh linh
Definition
- Noun:
- Adopted child: A child who has been legally and socially taken into a family to be raised as one's own. This is the primary and most common meaning.
- (Archaic/Literary) Foster child: In older or literary contexts, it refers to a child raised by someone other than its biological parents.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Cậu bé ấy là minh linh của gia đình họ. (That boy is their adopted child.)
- Trong câu chuyện cổ, nhân vật chính là một minh linh. (In the folktale, the main character is a foster child.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "minh linh" is considered literary and is less common in everyday modern speech. It often carries a classical or folkloric nuance.
- It is famously used in the Vietnamese folk saying: (The mud dauber wasp raises the spider, when it grows up, it spins a cocoon and leaves.) Here, "con nhện" (the spider) is metaphorically referred to as the "minh linh"—the adopted child who eventually leaves.
Variants and Related Words
- Con nuôi (n): This is the standard, everyday term for an adopted child or foster child.
- Họ nhận một bé gái làm con nuôi. (They adopted a little girl.)
Synonyms
- Adoptee: A person who has been adopted.
- Foster child: A child raised by someone other than its biological parents, often temporarily.
Related Idioms
- Tò vò nuôi minh linh: Literally "the mud dauber wasp raises an adopted child." This idiom describes the act of raising someone else's child, often with the implication that the child may not show loyalty or may eventually leave, reflecting its origin in the folk saying.