nhà quan
Definition
- Noun:
- Mandarin's house / official's residence: Refers to the home or dwelling of a government official, especially in historical or feudal contexts.
- The mandarin class / officialdom: Used as a collective term for officials, the ruling class, or the bureaucracy in traditional society.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Cổng nhà quan rất lớn và uy nghi. (The gate of the mandarin's house was very large and imposing.)
- Trong xã hội xưa, con cháu nhà quan thường có nhiều đặc quyền. (In the old society, the descendants of the official class often had many privileges.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a historical or sociological nuance, describing the power structures, lifestyle, or privileges associated with the feudal bureaucratic elite.
- Truyện cổ tích thường phê phán sự tham lam của nhà quan. (Folk tales often criticize the greed of the mandarin class.)
Variants and Related Words
Quan lại (n): The bureaucracy; the body of officials. A direct synonym often used interchangeably.
- Tầng lớp quan lại đôi khi lạm quyền. (The official class sometimes abused its power.)
Phủ quan (n): The official's mansion or government office.
- Dân thường không được tùy tiện vào phủ quan. (Commoners were not allowed to enter the official's mansion arbitrarily.)
Synonyms
- Officialdom: The officials of a government or organization collectively.
- The bureaucracy: A system of government in which most decisions are made by state officials.
- The mandarinate: The body of officials in historical Chinese or Vietnamese government.
Related Idioms
Con quan thì lại làm quan: A proverb meaning "the child of an official becomes an official," highlighting nepotism and inherited privilege in feudal systems.
- Xã hội đó tồn tại câu "con quan thì lại làm quan". (In that society, the proverb "the child of an official becomes an official" held true.)
Nhà quan lớn: Refers to a high-ranking or powerful official.
- Vụ án đó phải có nhà quan lớn đứng đằng sau. (A powerful official must have been behind that case.)