Definition

1. Noun:
   • Mandarin orange: A type of small, sweet, and easy-to-peel citrus fruit, similar to but distinct from an orange. It is a common fruit in Vietnam.
   • (Archaic) Young male servant: An old-fashioned term for a young male domestic worker.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Fruit):
  • Mẹ mua một cân quýt. (Mom bought a kilogram of mandarins.)
  • Quýt này ngọt và nhiều nước. (This mandarin is sweet and juicy.)
• Noun (Archaic):
  • Thằng quýt ra mở cửa. (The young servant came out to open the door.)

Advanced Usage

• "Vỏ quýt": Mandarin peel. Often used dried in traditional cooking and medicine.
  • Bà nội thường dùng vỏ quýt khô để nấu chè. (My grandmother often uses dried mandarin peel to make sweet soup.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quýt đường: A specific, very sweet variety of mandarin.
  • Quýt đường ở miền Tây nổi tiếng là thơm ngon. (The quýt đường from the Mekong Delta is famous for being fragrant and delicious.)

Synonyms

• Mandarin: The most direct English equivalent for the fruit.
• Tangerine: A closely related citrus fruit; often used interchangeably in English.
• Page (for the archaic sense): A young male attendant.

Related Idioms and Proverbs

• Vỏ quýt dày có móng tay nhọn: Literally "A thick mandarin peel meets a sharp fingernail." It means "Diamond cuts diamond" or "Set a thief to catch a thief," indicating that a clever person can be outsmarted by someone even more clever.
  • Hắn tưởng lừa được cô ta, nào ngờ vỏ quýt dày có móng tay nhọn. (He thought he could trick her, but it was a case of diamond cut diamond.)
• Đến mùa quýt: Literally "When the mandarin season comes." It is an idiom meaning "when pigs fly" or "never," used for something that is very unlikely to happen.
  • Anh ấy trả nợ à? Đến mùa quýt ấy! (He will repay the debt? When pigs fly!)

1. Mandarin, mandarine
   • Vỏ quýt khô
     Dry mandarine peel
   • Đến mùa quýt
     When the moon is made of green cheese; never
   • Vỏ quýt dày, móng tay nhọn
     Diamond cuts diamond.
2. (từ cũ) Thằng quýt
3. Young servant
   • Thằng quýt con sen
     Young servant and maid