Definition

Verb (Transitive): - To pre-select a wife (for one's son): The act of a parent (typically for a son) identifying and choosing a potential future spouse in advance, often while the individuals are still young or before formal marriage proceedings begin. It implies a long-term intention and arrangement made by the family.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Ông bà ấy đã rấm vợ cho con trai từ khi nó còn nhỏ. (They pre-selected a wife for their son since he was little.)
  • Việc rấm vợ ngày xưa khá phổ biến ở một số vùng nông thôn. (The practice of pre-selecting a wife was quite common in some rural areas in the past.)
  • Anh ta không biết bố mẹ đã rấm vợ cho mình. (He didn't know his parents had pre-selected a wife for him.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "rấm vợ" is culturally specific and reflects traditional marital customs where parents play a decisive role in arranging marriages. It is considered an outdated practice in modern urban Vietnamese society.
• The action is almost always done by parents or elders for a male child. A similar concept for a daughter is less commonly lexicalized in a single verb.

Variants and Related Words

• Hứa hôn (v): to betroth, to promise in marriage. This is a more formal stage following a pre-selection.
  • Hai gia đình đã hứa hôn cho con cái của họ. (The two families betrothed their children.)
• Đính ước (v): to become engaged (formal).
• Chọn vợ (v): to choose a wife. This is a general term and does not carry the specific connotation of advance planning by parents inherent in "rấm vợ".

Synonyms

• To pre-arrange a marriage (for one's son)
• To earmark a future wife (for one's son)

Notes on Usage

• "Rấm vợ" is an idiomatic, fixed phrase. The verb "rấm" is rarely used independently in modern Vietnamese outside this specific context.
• The practice denotes a preliminary, often informal, family decision rather than a formal contract like betrothal (hứa hôn).

1. Choose beforehand a possible match (for one's son)