Definition

Noun: * A mandarin family; a lineage of officials: A family that has held high-ranking positions in the imperial bureaucracy for multiple generations. It implies a family of noble or aristocratic status due to its long history of public service and scholarly achievement.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Gia đình ông ấy là một thế tộc nổi tiếng ở kinh thành. (His family is a famous mandarin lineage in the capital.)
  • Ngôi nhà cổ kính này từng thuộc về một thế tộc lâu đời. (This ancient house once belonged to an old lineage of officials.)
  • Trong lịch sử, nhiều thế tộc đã đóng góp lớn cho triều đình. (In history, many mandarin families made great contributions to the court.)

Advanced Usage

• The term thế tộc is primarily used in historical or literary contexts to describe families from Vietnam's feudal period. It is not commonly used in modern, everyday language to describe contemporary families.
• It carries connotations of prestige, tradition, education, and sustained social status over many generations.

Variants and Related Words

• Danh gia vọng tộc (idiom): A prestigious and renowned family of high social standing. This is a common four-word idiom with a similar meaning, often used alongside or interchangeably with thế tộc in classical literature.
• Quan lại (noun): Officials, mandarins. Refers to the individuals themselves rather than the family lineage.
• Gia tộc (noun): Clan, family line. A more general term for an extended family or lineage, without the specific connotation of officialdom.

Synonyms

• Dòng họ quan lại: A lineage of officials.
• Gia đình quyền quý: A noble/aristocratic family.

Related Idioms

• Con nhà tông không giống lông cũng giống cánh: (Literal: The child of a bird species, if not similar in feathers, is similar in wings). An idiom meaning "like father, like son" or that children inherit traits from their family. This concept is deeply connected to the idea of a thế tộc, where professional and moral traditions are passed down.

noun

1. mandarin family