thê thiếp
Definition
- Noun (Archaic):
- Wives and concubines: Refers collectively to a man's principal wife (primary spouse) and his secondary wives or concubines, as permitted in historical polygamous systems.
- Women of the household: Can broadly denote the women in a man's household, specifically those in marital or servile relationships to him.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong xã hội phong kiến, một người đàn ông giàu có có thể có nhiều thê thiếp. (In feudal society, a wealthy man could have many wives and concubines.)
- Câu chuyện kể về sự ghen tuông giữa các thê thiếp trong hậu cung. (The story tells of the jealousy among the wives and concubines in the royal harem.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used in historical, literary, or formal contexts to describe polygamous marital structures of the past. It is not used for modern relationships.
Variants and Related Words
- Thê (n, archaic): Principal wife, the first or primary wife.
- Thiếp (n, archaic): Concubine; a secondary wife or consort of lower status than the principal wife.
- Vợ lẽ (n): A more modern, though still somewhat dated, term for a concubine.
Synonyms
- Wives and concubines: The direct collective translation.
- Harem (in context): The women of a household, though this is a culturally specific term.
- Consorts: Often used for royal wives and concubines.
Related Idioms
- Tam thê tứ thiếp: An idiom meaning "three principal wives and four concubines," used to describe a man with a large number of spouses, symbolizing the extreme of polygamy in historical contexts.
- Chế độ phong kiến cho phép các quan lớn sống trong cảnh tam thê tứ thiếp. (The feudal system allowed high-ranking mandarins to live with three principal wives and four concubines.)