nô tì

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • Female slave / bondmaid: A woman who is legally owned by another person and forced to work without personal freedom or rights, often for life. Historically, this status resulted from crime, debt, or being sold by impoverished parents.
    • Servile woman / maid servant: In a feudal context, a woman bound to serve a noble or wealthy household, performing domestic or productive labor.
Usage Examples
  • Noun:
    • Xã hội phong kiến Việt Nam từng tồn tại chế độ nô tì. (Vietnamese feudal society once had a system of female slavery.)
    • Cô ấy bị bán làm nô tì cho một gia đình quý tộc. (She was sold as a bondmaid to a noble family.)
Advanced Usage
  • The term "nô tì" is specifically gendered and historical. It refers to the institutionalized practice of female servitude in pre-modern Vietnamese society, often contrasted with the more general term (slave).
Variants and Related Words

  • Nô lệ (n): Slave. A general, gender-neutral term for a person held in servitude.

    • Hàng triệu người đã bị bắt làm nô lệ. (Millions of people were captured and enslaved.)

  • Tì nữ (n): Maidservant, female attendant. Often implies a servant role, not necessarily a legally owned slave.

    • Các tì nữ chăm sóc cho công chúa. (The maidservants cared for the princess.)
Synonyms
  • Bondwoman: A woman bound to service without wages.
  • Female serf: A woman in a condition of feudal servitude.
  • Handmaid: A female servant or attendant.
Related Historical Context
  • Chế độ nô tì: The system of female slavery. This refers to the legal and social institution in historical Vietnamese dynasties (like the Lý and Trần eras) that permitted the nobility to purchase and own nô tì for domestic service and production.
    • Chế độ nô tì bị bãi bỏ vào cuối thế kỷ 19. (The female slavery system was abolished in the late 19th century.)