thái

Thân thiện

Người đầu bếp dùng dao để thái cà rốt thành từng lát mỏng.

Definition

1. Proper Noun:
   • The Thái (ethnic group): The name of one of the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam, primarily residing in the mountainous northwestern regions and parts of north-central Vietnam. They are traditionally known for wet rice cultivation, weaving, and a rich cultural heritage.
   • The Thái (language): The language spoken by the Thái ethnic group, belonging to the Tai-Kadai language family.

Usage Examples

• Proper Noun (Ethnic Group):
  • The Thái people have a long history of living in the valleys of Northwest Vietnam. (Người Thái có lịch sử lâu đời sinh sống ở các thung lũng Tây Bắc Việt Nam.)
  • She is wearing a traditional costume of the Thái. (Cô ấy đang mặc trang phục truyền thống của người Thái.)
• Proper Noun (Language):
  • He can speak both Vietnamese and Thái. (Anh ấy có thể nói cả tiếng Việt và tiếng Thái.)
  • This song's lyrics are written in the Thái language. (Lời bài hát này được viết bằng tiếng Thái.)

Advanced Usage

• "Người Thái": This is the most common and precise way to refer to the ethnic group, meaning "Thái people" or "Thái person."
  • Many người Thái are skilled in weaving intricate textiles. (Nhiều người Thái rất giỏi dệt các loại vải hoa văn tinh xảo.)
• "Dân tộc Thái": A more formal term equivalent to "Thái ethnicity."
  • The culture of the dân tộc Thái is very diverse. (Văn hóa của dân tộc Thái rất đa dạng.)
• "Tiếng Thái": The standard term for the Thái language.
  • Learning tiếng Thái helps in understanding their folk songs. (Học tiếng Thái giúp hiểu các làn điệu dân ca của họ.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thái Trắng (White Thái): A sub-group of the Thái ethnic group, distinguished by traditional clothing and customs.
  • The Thái Trắng women often wear white blouses. (Phụ nữ Thái Trắng thường mặc áo ngực màu trắng.)
• Thái Đen (Black Thái): Another major sub-group of the Thái ethnic group.
  • The Thái Đen are known for their indigo-dyed clothing. (Người Thái Đen nổi tiếng với trang phục nhuộm chàm.)
• Văn hóa Thái (Thái culture): Refers to the collective cultural practices, arts, and traditions of the Thái people.
• Thái Lan (Thailand): A country in Southeast Asia. CRITICAL NOTE: "Thái" alone refers to the Vietnamese ethnic group. The country and its people/language are "Thái Lan" (noun) and "tiếng Thái Lan" (language).

Synonyms

• Dân tộc thiểu số (Ethnic minority): A general term. The Thái are one specific dân tộc thiểu số.
  • The Thái are one of the largest dân tộc thiểu số in Vietnam. (Người Thái là một trong những dân tộc thiểu số lớn nhất ở Việt Nam.)

Related Phrases

• Người Thái ở Tây Bắc (The Thái people in the Northwest): Specifies the main region where the Thái community lives in Vietnam.
• Trang phục Thái (Thái attire/costume): Traditional clothing of the Thái people.
• Nhà sàn của người Thái (The stilt house of the Thái people): Refers to their traditional architectural style.

Related Idioms

(There are no common idioms in Vietnamese that use the word "Thái" to refer to the ethnic group. Idioms typically use "Thái" in its Sino-Vietnamese meaning related to "attitude" or "state.")

Học thuật

1. With nearly 900,000 inhabitants (1.45% of the Vietnamese population), Thái ethnic group is divided into Thái trắng (White Thái) and Thái đen (Black Thái) on the basis of the clothing colour. The residential sphere spreads from Red River right bank to Thanh Hoá, Nghệ An Highlands. It is easy for them to mix with native ethnic groups. They settle in valleys surrounding immense fields (Mường Thanh, Quang Huy, Than Uyên, Nghĩa Lộ), and live on farming, breeding, weaving. The Thái people has its own writing and a very developed popular culture
2. In the western part of Nghệ An Province, there reside about 13,000 ethnic Thais belonging to the sub-groups of Tay Thanh, Tay Muoi, and others. Like their counterparts in the North-West of the country, the Thái community here possesses a rich culture that has been built up over the centuries. In their everyday working life, the Thái minority has developed a rich and abundant culture. Many traditional rites and festivals exist along with other Thái cultural activities. In this article, we introduce one particular cultural event - the Thái's Cave-Picnicking Festival. According to the elders in the community, the Cave-Visiting Festival of the Thái people living in the mountain villages surrounding Quỳ Hợp dates back to time immemorial, and was in existence up to the middle of the twentieth century. Every year during the period from the 3rd through the 10th day of Tháng Giêng (the Lunar Year's first month following Nguyên Đán - the Lunar New Year's Day), the Thái folk in and around the locality flock to the Cave - Picnicking Festival The event takes place in Tham Mon (Mon Cave) located in the Châu Quy commune, Quỳ Hợp district. The Cave visitors are of all ages, but mainly single young people. They are natives from the villages of Quỳ Hợp and other neighbouring districts in West Nghệ An. Visitors are allowed to enter the cave only once a day until they find themselves a boy or girl friend, and return home when the festival ends. It is an inviolable rule that cave visitors must not bring in a lamp, fire or any source of light.+All visitors come into the cave for the festive occasion amid complete darkness. Young people first enter in groups, then disperse and move further into the dark cave. Once inside the cave, the girls usually gather in small groups of two or three, and stand timidly in the cave alleys. The boys, also in small groups, grope in the dark for girl friends. Every action must be made by hand, and every move made by foot as calling, speaking or shouting are completely forbiđen... Having found a friend of the opposite sex, the boy can talk with and court the girl in the cave. If they find each other suitable, the couple come out of the cave hand-in-hand and go to the boy's home to announce their love to his parents. The parents then take the responsibility of guardianship, by assisting and creating favourable conditions for the couple to become husband and wife. That the Festival takes place in such a dark cave makes it an extremely fun-filled and enjoyable experience. All unmarried Thái boys and girls are eager to go to the Cave- Visiting Festival to try their luck at seeking a life companion. The Thái men traditionally look for a pretty girl of marriageable age who must be well-built and in good health Therefore, in the cave, a boy first makes sure that he finds himself the right girl, that is, he asks in whispers after her name, her whereabouts and her parents so as not to mistake a blood sister or relative whom he cannot marry. He then feels her thoroughly to find out whether she is strong and sturdy. If satisfied, he then starts to exchange intimacies, courts her and ultimately leads her out of the cave. Such a play of courtship all in the dark cave with the boys fumbling for the girls who hide themselves in the cave gorges or alleys cannot be free of conflicts and jostlings among the men. A struggle inevitably ensues when a boy finds a girl who has a flaw and tries to get rid of her. Similar to practices such as the "moonlight dance" or "moonlight stroll" of some other ethnic minorities, the Cave - Picnicking Festival of the Thái community in western Nghệ An is a cultural activity - a community-gathering place for dating and courting couples.+It is a healthy practice and requires the participants to strictly adhere to the community's rules and customs. In earlier times, when social events were virtually non-existent among the Tháis, the Cave-Picnicking festival presented a good opportunity for young people to discover and exchange love. The Festival in fact was an indispensable part of the cultural life of the Thái people in western Nghệ An up to the first half of this century