Definition

1. Noun:
   • Essence / Quintessence: The purest, most concentrated, and most valuable part or aspect of something, representing its core nature or highest quality.
   • Best part / Cream: The most refined and excellent part extracted from a larger whole.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ca dao là tinh túy của văn học dân gian Việt Nam. (Folk poetry is the essence of Vietnamese folk literature.)
  • Anh ấy đã đúc kết tinh túy của cả cuốn sách vào một bài giảng. (He distilled the quintessence of the entire book into one lecture.)
  • Tinh thần đoàn kết là tinh túy của văn hóa dân tộc. (The spirit of solidarity is the core of the national culture.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is often used in formal, literary, or academic contexts to describe the abstract, invaluable core of intellectual, cultural, or spiritual traditions.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe the fundamental principle or most admirable quality of a person's character or thought.

Variants and Related Words

• Tinh hoa (n): Elite, cream, quintessence. Often used interchangeably with , but can sometimes imply a distinguished, selected group (e.g., - intellectual elite).
• Cốt lõi (n): Core, crux, essence. Focuses more on the fundamental, indispensable part, often of an idea or argument.
• Phần tinh túy (n phrase): The essential part.

Synonyms

• Essence: The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something.
• Quintessence: The most perfect or typical example of a quality or class; the purest and most concentrated form.
• Core: The central or most important part.
• Marrow: The most vital or essential part.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Chắt lọc tinh túy: To distill/extract the essence.
  • Người nghệ sĩ phải biết chắt lọc tinh túy từ cuộc sống. (An artist must know how to distill the essence from life.)
• Tinh túy dân tộc: The quintessence of the nation.
  • Áo dài được xem là chứa đựng tinh túy dân tộc. (The áo dài is considered to embody the quintessence of the nation.)