Definition

1. Verb:
   • To break a promise, to fail to keep one's word: The primary meaning refers to failing to fulfill a spoken commitment or promise.
   • To be unfaithful (archaic, specifically of a woman): In a feudal context, this term specifically described a woman's failure to maintain chastity or fidelity to her husband, according to Confucian moral standards.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta đã thất tiết, không thực hiện lời hứa giúp đỡ tôi. (He broke his promise and did not fulfill his pledge to help me.)
  • Trong xã hội phong kiến, người phụ nữ bị buộc tội thất tiết sẽ chịu hình phạt rất nặng. (In feudal society, a woman accused of being unfaithful would face severe punishment.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is considered archaic and is rarely used in modern conversational Vietnamese. Its usage is now mostly confined to historical or literary contexts discussing feudal morality.
• The concept of "tiết" (chastity, moral integrity) is a key Confucian virtue, making "thất tiết" a heavily value-laden term.

Variants and Related Words

• Thất hứa (verb): To break a promise. This is the modern, neutral equivalent for failing to keep one's word.
• Bội ước (verb): To break a vow or pledge.
• Phản bội (verb): To betray. A stronger, more general term for betrayal.
• Tiết (noun): Chastity, moral integrity, fidelity. The core virtue that is "lost" in "thất tiết".

Synonyms

• Thất hứa: To break a promise.
• Bội tín: To be untrustworthy, to break faith.

Notes on Meaning

• The verb's two meanings are historically connected but used in different contexts. The meaning "to fail to keep one's word" is a more general application of the core idea of failing to uphold a moral commitment ("tiết").
• The specific meaning regarding a woman's fidelity is an artifact of feudal patriarchy and is obsolete in contemporary language, though it may appear in historical dramas or literature.

verb

1. to lose one's words, to failto keep one's word