Definition

1. Noun:
   • Threshold (of a door): A physical structure, often made of wood, brick, or stone, forming the bottom part of a doorway frame.
   • Scale, Category, or Quota (in administrative, tax, or personnel systems): An officially established classification, rank, or fixed limit set by the state or an organization. It often refers to a system of grades, a personnel classification, or a tax bracket.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Threshold):
  • Kẻ trộm đào ngạch vào nhà. (The thief dug under the threshold to enter the house.)
• Noun (Scale/Category):
  • Ngạch thuế hải quan. (The customs duty scale.)
  • Ngạch công chức. (The civil servant classification scale / personnel category.)
  • Ngạch lương. (The salary scale.)
  • Công chức chưa vào ngạch. (A civil servant not yet on the official register / not yet tenured.)

Advanced Usage

• "Vào ngạch": To be officially registered, tenured, or placed into a formal personnel category (especially for civil servants).
  • Sau kỳ thi, anh ấy chính thức được vào ngạch công chức. (After the exam, he was officially entered into the civil service register.)
• "Ngoài ngạch" / "Chưa vào ngạch": Refers to personnel who are not (or not yet) part of the official, tenured classification system.
  • Nhân viên hợp đồng thường là công chức ngoài ngạch. (Contract staff are usually non-tenured civil servants.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngạch ngưỡng (n): A compound word meaning "threshold" (often metaphorical, e.g., a threshold level). This is a separate compound.
• Biên chế (n): Refers to the official staff establishment or payroll of an organization, closely related to the personnel aspect of "ngạch".
• Bậc (n): A step or grade within a scale or ladder (e.g., - salary step), often used within a "ngạch".

Synonyms

• Ngưỡng (n): Threshold (more common in modern usage for both physical and figurative thresholds).
• Hạng (n): Grade, class, category.
• Bảng (n): Table, scale (as in - salary table).

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Định ngạch: To set a quota or limit.
  • Chính phủ định ngạch xuất khẩu cho mặt hàng này. (The government sets an export quota for this product.)
• Trong ngạch: Within the official category/quota.
  • Nhập khẩu trong ngạch được hưởng thuế suất ưu đãi. (Imports within the quota enjoy a preferential tax rate.)

Related Idioms

• "Đào ngạch khoét vách": Literally "to dig under the threshold and bore through the wall". This idiom means to be a burglar or to commit theft by breaking into a house.
  • Bọn trộm chuyên đào ngạch khoét vách. (The thieves specialize in breaking and entering.)

1. Threshold (of a door)
2. Scale (of taxes...)
   • Ngạch thuế hải quan
     A scale of custom duties
   • Ngạch công chức
     A scale of different ranks and grades of civil servants, a personnel classifacation scale
   • Ngạch lương
     A scale of salaries, a scale of wages