thầy tớ
Definition
Noun:
- Master and servant: A compound noun referring to the traditional hierarchical relationship between an employer (master) and a domestic employee (servant).
- Patron and domestic: Denotes the pair consisting of a boss or patron and their household servant.
Noun (figurative):
- A relationship of authority and subordination: Used to describe any dynamic where one person has clear authority over another, akin to a boss and subordinate.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- Quan hệ thầy tớ thời phong kiến rất nghiêm ngặt. (The master-servant relationship in feudal times was very strict.)
- Trong câu chuyện đó, nhân vật chính có nhiều thầy tớ trung thành. (In that story, the main character has many loyal masters and servants.)
Noun (figurative):
- Họ làm việc cùng nhau như những đồng nghiệp, không phải quan hệ thầy tớ. (They work together as colleagues, not in a master-servant relationship.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used to critique or describe unequal, autocratic relationships in modern contexts, such as in politics or business.
- Văn hóa công sở ở đó vẫn còn tư tưởng thầy tớ. (The office culture there still has a master-servant mentality.)
Variants and Related Words
- Ông chủ (n): boss, master.
- Kẻ hầu người hạ (idiomatic phrase): servants and attendants; a collective term for domestic staff.
- Quan hệ cấp trên - cấp dưới (phrase): superior-subordinate relationship.
Synonyms
- Master and servant: The direct equivalent.
- Employer and domestic: A more formal, legalistic pairing.
- Patron and retainer: A more historical or literary synonym.
Related Idioms
- Thầy nào tớ ấy: Literally "like master, like servant". Equivalent to the English idiom "Like master, like man" or "A servant is known by his master's actions." It implies that servants often reflect the character or behavior of their master.
- Bọn họ tham nhũng cả, đúng là thầy nào tớ ấy. (They are all corrupt, truly like master, like servant.)