thâm giao
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Very close, intimate, and of long standing: Describes a deep, enduring, and profoundly close friendship or relationship, often built over a very long time. It implies a bond that is not only strong but also rooted in shared history and mutual understanding.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Họ là đôi bạn thâm giao, hiểu nhau từng chút một. (They are intimate friends who understand each other completely.)
- Mối quan hệ thâm giao của hai gia đình đã kéo dài ba thế hệ. (The intimate relationship between the two families has lasted for three generations.)
- Chỉ có bạn thâm giao mới có thể nói chuyện thẳng thắn như vậy. (Only a very close friend can speak so frankly.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used to describe platonic, profound friendships or alliances, not romantic relationships. It carries a formal and literary tone.
- It often functions attributively before nouns like (friend) or (relationship).
Variants and Related Words
- Bạn thâm giao (n): an intimate friend, a close and long-standing friend.
- Ông ấy là một bạn thâm giao của cha tôi. (He is an intimate friend of my father's.)
Synonyms
- Intimate: Closely acquainted, very familiar.
- Close-knit: Bound by strong social and emotional ties.
- Long-standing: Having existed for a long period.
Related Idioms
- While "thâm giao" itself is not typically part of a common idiom, the concept is central to the classical Vietnamese proverb:
- "Giàu đổi bạn, sang đổi vợ" (Richness changes friends, nobility changes wives). This proverb criticizes those who abandon bạn thâm giao for wealth or status.