Definition

1. Verb:
   • To present gifts to the fiancée's family on specific festive occasions: A traditional Vietnamese custom where the groom's family brings ceremonial gifts to the bride's family during the engagement period, often on holidays like Tết (Lunar New Year) or the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Gia đình nhà trai sẽ đi sêu nhà gái vào dịp Tết. (The groom's family will go to present gifts to the bride's family on the occasion of Tết.)
  • Phong tục sêu vẫn còn được duy trì ở nhiều vùng quê. (The custom of presenting gifts to the fiancée's family is still maintained in many rural areas.)

Advanced Usage

• "đi sêu": to go to present the ceremonial gifts.
  • Năm nay, anh ấy phải chuẩn bị lễ vật để đi sêu. (This year, he has to prepare ceremonial offerings to go and present gifts to his fiancée's family.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lễ sêu (n): The ceremony or the act of presenting these gifts.
  • Lễ sêu thường gồm trầu cau, bánh trái. (The gift-presenting ceremony usually includes betel leaves and areca nuts, and cakes.)
• Đồ sêu (n): The gifts themselves that are presented.
  • Đồ sêu được bày biện rất đẹp trong mâm. (The engagement gifts are arranged very beautifully on the tray.)

Synonyms

• Biếu (verb): to offer, to present (a gift to someone, often a superior or elder, but not specifically in an engagement context).
• Tặng (verb): to give, to present (a gift in a general sense).

Notes on Meaning

• Specific Cultural Context: The word "sêu" is deeply rooted in traditional Vietnamese marriage customs. It is not a general term for gift-giving but refers specifically to the groom's family's obligatory gift presentation to the bride's family during festivals before the wedding. It reinforces the bond and respect between the two families.
• Distinction from "nạp thái" (betrothal): While both are pre-wedding customs, "nạp thái" is the formal betrothal ceremony with a fixed set of gifts. "Sêu" refers to subsequent, often periodic, gift-giving on festive occasions after the betrothal.

1. Present the fiancee's family with gifts on festivities