Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pay a bridal visit to one's parents: A traditional custom where a married woman returns to her parents' home for a visit, typically to show respect, share news, and maintain family bonds after marriage. This term is now considered archaic or literary in modern Vietnamese.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Sau khi cưới một tháng, cô ấy về ninh gia. (After being married for a month, she paid a bridal visit to her parents.)
  • Theo phong tục xưa, con gái mới lấy chồng thường phải ninh gia. (According to old customs, a newly married woman often had to pay a bridal visit to her parents.)

Advanced Usage

• The term ninh gia is primarily found in historical, literary, or formal contexts discussing traditional customs. It is rarely used in everyday modern conversation.
• It specifically refers to the or an visit by the bride to her natal home after marriage, carrying connotations of filial piety and ritual.

Variants and Related Words

• Thăm nhà: (Verb phrase) To visit one's home/family. This is the modern, general term for visiting one's parents or family home and is not specific to marital status or tradition.
• Về thăm cha mẹ: (Verb phrase) To return to visit one's parents. A common contemporary expression.

Synonyms

• Về thăm nhà: To return home for a visit.
• Bái kiến cha mẹ (archaic/literary): To pay a formal visit to one's parents.

Notes on Meaning

• The core meaning of ninh gia is intrinsically linked to the social structure and customs of pre-modern Vietnam, where a married woman's primary residence shifted to her husband's family. The visit was a significant ritual.
• It does not simply mean "to visit home"; it carries the specific context of a married daughter fulfilling a traditional familial duty.

1. (cũ) Pay a bridal visit to one's parents