Definition

1. Noun:
   • Tavern, pub, bar: An establishment, especially an old-fashioned or traditional one, that primarily sells alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, spirits) and often also serves food. It is a place for social drinking and gathering.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy thường ghé vào tửu điếm cũ sau giờ làm. (He often stops by the old tavern after work.)
  • Tửu điếm đó nổi tiếng với loại rượu đặc sản của địa phương. (That tavern is famous for its local specialty wine.)
  • Trong tiểu thuyết lịch sử, các nhân vật thường gặp nhau tại tửu điếm. (In historical novels, characters often meet at the tavern.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "tửu điếm" carries a somewhat literary or historical nuance in modern Vietnamese. It often refers to traditional drinking establishments, evoking an older, classic setting, rather than modern bars or nightclubs.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe a place of indulgence or revelry.
  • Căn phòng ồn ào như một tửu điếm. (The noisy room was like a tavern.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quán rượu (n): A more common and contemporary term for a bar or pub.
• Tiệm rượu (n): Wine shop; can refer to a shop selling bottled alcohol, but sometimes also a drinking place.
• Quán bar (n): Bar (a direct loanword, indicating a modern-style bar).
• Quán ăn (n): Restaurant (focuses on food, though it may serve alcohol).
• Tửu (n, literary): Wine; alcoholic beverage (the root word in "tửu điếm").
• Điếm (n, archaic): Shop, stall (the root word in "tửu điếm").

Synonyms

• Tavern: A place where alcoholic drinks are sold and consumed.
• Pub (Public house): A British term for a tavern or bar.
• Inn: An establishment providing accommodation, food, and drink, historically similar to a tavern.
• Bistro (from French): A small, casual restaurant or wine bar.

Related Phrases / Idioms

• "Chốn tửu điếm": The phrase emphasizes the place as a site of drinking, sometimes with a slightly negative connotation of excessive indulgence.
  • Anh ta sa đà vào chốn tửu điếm. (He is sinking into the world of taverns / He is frequenting taverns excessively.)

verb

1. tavern