Definition

1. Noun:

   • Qingming Festival / Tomb-Sweeping Day: The name of a traditional solar term and festival in the lunisolar calendar, typically occurring around April 4th, 5th, or 6th. It is a time for visiting, cleaning, and making offerings at family graves.

2. Verb:

   • To explain oneself / to justify oneself: To give an explanation or clarification to remove blame, correct a misunderstanding, or defend one's own or someone else's actions or intentions.
   • To vindicate: To clear from alleged fault, guilt, or suspicion.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Tết Thanh minh là dịp để con cháu tưởng nhớ tổ tiên. (The Qingming Festival is an occasion for descendants to remember their ancestors.)
  • Cả nhà tôi sẽ về quê vào tiết Thanh minh. (My whole family will return to our hometown for the Qingming solar term.)

• Verb:

  • Cô ấy cố thanh minh rằng mình không đến muộn do lỗi của mình. (She tried to explain that her lateness was not her fault.)
  • Anh ấy viết thư thanh minh cho bạn mình. (He wrote a letter to vindicate his friend.)

Advanced Usage

• The noun "Thanh Minh" is often used with "Tết" (festival) as "Tết Thanh Minh" to specifically refer to the festival day and its associated customs, rather than just the solar term.

Variants and Related Words

• Tảo mộ (v): To sweep/clean the grave. This is the primary ritual activity performed during the Qingming Festival.
  • Vào dịp Thanh minh, mọi người đi tảo mộ. (During Qingming, people go to sweep the graves.)

Synonyms

• Noun: Qingming Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Grave Visiting Day.
• Verb: To explain, to clarify, to defend, to exonerate, to make excuses for.

Related Idioms

• Thanh minh thanh nga: To explain and justify at great length; to protest one's innocence repeatedly and elaborately.
  • Cậu ấy thanh minh thanh nga mãi về chuyện đó. (He kept explaining and justifying himself at great length about that matter.)

noun

1. grave visiting festival

verb

1. to explain away, to account for