Definition

1. Noun:
   • Threshold: The piece of wood, stone, or metal at the bottom of a doorway that you step over when entering or leaving a building.
   • Doorstep: The step or area immediately in front of the entrance to a building.
   • Figurative Beginning / Brink: A figurative point of entry or the very start of a new stage, experience, or condition.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Literal):
  • Cô ấy ngồi trên ngưỡng cửa. (She sat on the doorstep.)
  • Hãy lau sạch ngưỡng cửa. (Please wipe the threshold clean.)
• Noun (Figurative):
  • Anh ấy đứng ở ngưỡng cửa của sự nghiệp mới. (He stands at the threshold of a new career.)
  • Chúng tôi đang ở ngưỡng cửa của một kỷ nguyên mới. (We are on the brink of a new era.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in literary and formal contexts to signify a transition or a pivotal moment.
  • Đứng ở ngưỡng cửa đại học, cô ấy cảm thấy háo hức. (Standing at the threshold of university, she felt excited.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bậc cửa (n): doorstep, step. Often used more specifically for the step itself.
  • Cẩn thận bậc cửa. (Mind the step.)
• Ngưỡng (n): threshold, lintel (can refer to the top part of a door frame, but context usually clarifies).

Synonyms

• Threshold: The starting point or entrance.
• Doorstep: The step outside a door.
• Brink: The edge of a situation, typically a crucial one.
• Vestibule: A small entrance hall or passage, though this is an interior space.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bước qua ngưỡng cửa: To cross the threshold. Literally to enter a building, or figuratively to begin something new.
  • Khi bạn bước qua ngưỡng cửa này, cuộc sống sẽ thay đổi. (When you cross this threshold, life will change.)
• Ở ngưỡng cửa của...: At the threshold of... (Used to indicate the beginning of an important phase).
  • Ở ngưỡng cửa của thiên niên kỷ... (At the threshold of the millennium...)

1. threshold, doorstep
   • Đứng ở ngưỡng cửa
     to stand at the thershold, to stand on the doorstep