Definition

Noun: - (Historical, obsolete) A senior clerk or mid-level office worker, specifically a Vietnamese civil servant performing clerical and administrative duties in government offices during the French colonial period in Vietnam.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông nội tôi từng làm thầy phán ở một tòa án thời Pháp thuộc. (My grandfather used to be a senior clerk in a court during the French colonial period.)
  • Trong bộ phim lịch sử, nhân vật thầy phán mặc áo dài the, đội khăn xếp. (In the historical film, the senior clerk character wears a silk "áo dài" and a traditional folded turban.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "thầy phán" is now archaic and carries a strong historical connotation. It is primarily used in historical narratives, literature, or discussions about the colonial-era administration.
• It implies a position of some respect and literacy ("thầy") but within the colonial bureaucratic structure, distinct from higher-ranking French officials or traditional Vietnamese scholars ("ông đồ").

Variants and Related Words

• Thư ký (noun): Secretary, clerk. This is the modern, general term for an office clerk or secretary.
• Công chức (noun): Civil servant, public official. A broader modern term for government office workers.
• Hành chính (noun/adj): Administration, administrative. Refers to the general field of office work.

Synonyms

• Nhân viên văn phòng (noun): Office worker.
• Thư lại (noun, historical): Clerk, scribe (an older term for clerks, pre-dating or used alongside "thầy phán").

Related Phrases

• Làm việc bàn giấy (verb phrase): To do desk work, to work in an office.
  • Công việc của một thầy phán chủ yếu là làm việc bàn giấy. (The work of a senior clerk was mainly desk work.)

noun

1. (cũ) senior clerk