Definition

1. Noun:
   • A card: A small, flat, rectangular piece of stiff paper or plastic, often containing information or granting a specific right or identity. For example: a membership card, an ID card, a library card.
   • A tag: A small, flat piece of material, often attached to an object, used for identification, labeling, or providing information. For example: a price tag, a name tag.
   • A tablet / a slip: A thin, flat piece of material (historically bamboo, wood, or ivory), used for writing, record-keeping, or as a token. This meaning is common in historical or fortune-telling contexts.
   • A fortune-telling stick: Specifically, one of a set of thin sticks or slips used in certain forms of divination or fortune-telling, where one is drawn to receive an omen or prediction.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tôi đã làm mất thẻ ngân hàng. (I lost my bank card.)
  • Mỗi sản phẩm đều có thẻ giá. (Every product has a price tag.)
  • Người xưa viết chữ trên thẻ tre. (People in the past wrote characters on bamboo slips.)
  • Bà ấy đi chùa để xin thẻ. (She goes to the temple to draw a fortune-telling stick.)

Advanced Usage

• "thẻ bài": Historically, a tablet or tally used as a credential, token of authority, or for record-keeping. Now often used metaphorically.

  • Anh ta sử dụng mối quan hệ như một thẻ bài trong đàm phán. (He used his connections as a trump card in the negotiation.)

• "thẻ quẹt" / "thẻ cào": A scratch card.

  • Cô ấy mua một thẻ cào điện thoại. (She bought a phone scratch card.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thẻ căn cước (n): Identity card, ID card.

  • Bạn cần xuất trình thẻ căn cước. (You need to present your ID card.)

• Thẻ tín dụng (n): Credit card.

  • Thanh toán bằng thẻ tín dụng được chấp nhận. (Payment by credit card is accepted.)

• Thẻ nhớ (n): Memory card (for digital devices).

  • Máy ảnh này dùng thẻ nhớ SD. (This camera uses an SD memory card.)

Synonyms

• Card: (e.g., membership card, ID card).
• Tag: (e.g., label, price tag).
• Slip / Tablet: (e.g., a small flat piece for writing).
• Token: (e.g., a piece representing a right or for divination).

Related Idioms

• Cắm thẻ: Literally "to plant a tag/tablet," historically referring to marking land boundaries with stakes/tablets. Figuratively, it can mean to establish a claim or presence.

  • Công ty mới cắm thẻ ở thị trường châu Á. (The new company staked its claim in the Asian market.)

• Xin thẻ / Rút thẻ: To draw a fortune-telling stick. This refers to the temple ritual of shaking a cylinder of sticks until one falls out, which is then interpreted.

  • Đầu năm, nhiều người đến chùa rút thẻ để xem vận hạn. (At the start of the year, many people go to the temple to draw fortune sticks to see their luck.)

noun

1. tag card fortunetelling tablet