Definition

1. Verb:
   • To promote, to elevate to a higher position or rank: This is the primary modern meaning, referring to advancement in a job, military, or official hierarchy.
   • To come out of (a trance), for a spirit to depart: Used in the context of Vietnamese folk religion, specifically spirit mediumship (lên đồng), meaning for the medium to stop being possessed and for the spirit to ascend/leave.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To promote):

  • Anh ấy vừa được thăng chức trưởng phòng. (He was just promoted to department head.)
  • Cô ấy được thăng lên cấp bậc thiếu tá. (She was promoted to the rank of major.)

• Verb (To come out of a trance):

  • Sau khi phán truyền, vị thánh đã thăng. (After delivering the oracle, the saint departed [from the medium's body].)
  • Người ngồi đồng thăng khi hương tàn. (The medium comes out of the trance when the incense burns out.)

Advanced Usage

• "thăng quan tiến chức": (idiom, often used historically) To be promoted and advance in official rank. This phrase encapsulates the concept of career advancement within a bureaucratic system.
  • Mong ước của ông ấy là thăng quan tiến chức. (His wish was to climb the official ranks.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thăng cấp (verb phrase): To be promoted a level/grade.

  • Đội bóng đó được thăng cấp lên giải hạng nhất. (That football team was promoted to the first division.)

• Thăng tiến (verb): To advance, to make progress (often in one's career).

  • Cô ấy luôn tìm cơ hội để thăng tiến trong sự nghiệp. (She always looks for opportunities to advance in her career.)

• Thăng hoa (verb): To sublimate (in physics); figuratively, to be elevated, to reach a peak of emotion or artistry.

  • Tình yêu khiến tâm hồn thăng hoa. (Love makes the soul sublime.)

Synonyms

• Thăng chức (verb phrase): To promote/to be promoted in position. This is a very common near-synonym for the first meaning.
• Đề bạt (verb): To promote, to elevate (usually due to merit).
• Tiến cử (verb): To recommend for promotion/advancement.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Được thăng: To be promoted (passive construction).
  • Ông Nam được thăng làm giám đốc. (Mr. Nam was promoted to director.)

Related Idioms

• "Thăng trầm": (noun) Ups and downs, vicissitudes (of life, fortune). This idiom uses "thăng" (to rise) contrasted with "trầm" (to sink).
  • Cuộc đời có nhiều thăng trầm. (Life has many ups and downs.)

verb

1. to promote to come out of (a trance)