tiền gián

Một người bán hàng đang đếm tiền gián trên quầy.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A historical Vietnamese currency unit: A specific type of money used in the past, referring to a sum of thirty-six zinc coins, not the full sixty coins that constituted a standard unit.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong sổ sách cũ ghi lại một khoản nợ là mười đồng tiền gián. (The old ledger recorded a debt of ten đồng in tiền gián.)
  • Tiền gián có giá trị thấp hơn so với tiền quý. (Tiền gián had a lower value compared to fine currency.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in historical or literary contexts to describe economic transactions, prices, or social conditions of the past.
• It illustrates the complexity of the historical Vietnamese currency system, where units could be counted in different ways (e.g., 36 vs. 60 coins).

Variants and Related Words

• Đồng (n): A general term for a monetary unit, like "dong" in modern Vietnamese or historically, a coin.
• Tiền quý (n): Fine or full-value money, often contrasted with .
• Tiền kẽm (n): Zinc money, referring to the physical material of the coins.

Synonyms

• Historical currency: Refers to money used in a past era.
• Zinc coinage: Specifies the material and form of the money.

Related Idioms

• No common modern idioms directly use this term, as it is obsolete. It may appear in historical phrases describing value, such as (worth a few of ), implying low worth.