Definition

Noun: 1. A written account of a person's life and work; a biography or life story: A literary work that records and narrates the events, achievements, and experiences of a real person's life. 2. A short story or narrative based on real events; a chronicle: A prose work that recounts true events, often with a focus on factual reporting within a narrative structure.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cuốn truyện ký về Chủ tịch Hồ Chí Minh rất hấp dẫn. (The biography about President Ho Chi Minh is very captivating.)
  • Nhà văn đang viết một truyện ký về người anh hùng dân tộc. (The writer is composing a life story about the national hero.)
  • Tác phẩm này không phải tiểu thuyết hư cấu mà là một truyện ký. (This work is not a fictional novel but a chronicle based on real events.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "truyện ký" emphasizes the narrative () form of a factual record (). It sits between pure documentary history and literary fiction, aiming to present true events in an engaging, story-like manner.
• It is often used for works about historical figures, revolutionaries, or individuals with notable contributions.

Variants and Related Words

• Hồi ký (noun): Memoir, autobiography. Focuses on the author's own personal experiences and memories.
• Tiểu sử (noun): Biography, curriculum vitae. Can be a more straightforward, factual listing of a person's life events, not necessarily in a detailed narrative form.
• Ký sự (noun): Reportage, chronicle. A literary record of events the author witnessed or investigated, often with a broader scope than a single person's life.

Synonyms

• Tiểu sử: biography, life history.
• Sử ký: historical record, chronicle.
• Chân dung văn học: literary portrait (a style that may overlap with ).

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Viết truyện ký: To write a biography/life story.
  • Ông ấy dành cả đời để viết truyện ký về các nhà khoa học. (He spent his whole life writing biographies of scientists.)

noun

1. life story, cover