quan dạng
Definition
- Noun:
- The pompous or self-important manner of a mandarin: Refers specifically to the haughty, strutting, or ostentatious bearing and demeanor traditionally associated with a high-ranking official (mandarin) in historical Vietnam.
- A pretentious, swaggering air: Describes an affectedly grand and superior way of carrying oneself, often used critically to imply arrogance.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Ông ta bước đi với quan dạng đầy kiêu hãnh. (He walked with the pompous manner of a mandarin, full of pride.)
- Anh ấy vừa được thăng chức đã có quan dạng khó ưa. (He just got promoted and already has an unpleasant, swaggering air.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used in a figurative and critical sense in modern Vietnamese to describe someone (not necessarily an actual official) who acts with unwarranted self-importance and pomposity.
Variants and Related Words
- Quan cách (n): The ways or style of a mandarin/official; can refer to bureaucratic procedures or an official's demeanor.
- Khệnh khạng (adj): Describes a slow, deliberate, and pompous way of walking or behaving, closely related to the concept of "quan dạng."
Synonyms
- Pomposity: The quality of being pompous; self-importance.
- Haughtiness: The appearance or quality of being arrogantly superior.
- Swagger: A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner.
Related Idioms
- Lên mặt quan dạng: To put on airs; to assume a haughty, official-like manner.
- Chẳng có chức vụ gì mà lên mặt quan dạng. (He holds no position yet puts on such airs.)