trái giống
Definition
Noun:
- Smallpox: An acute, highly contagious, and often fatal infectious disease caused by the variola virus, characterized by fever and a distinctive progressive skin rash that leaves pitted scars (pockmarks). This is the primary medical and historical meaning.
- Pockmark: The permanent scar or pit left on the skin after the pustules from smallpox heal. This meaning refers to the physical evidence of the disease.
Adjective (Regional/Dialectal):
- Pockmarked: Having a face or skin marked by scars or pits from smallpox. This usage describes a person's appearance.
Usage Examples
Noun (Disease):
- Trước đây, dịch trái giống đã cướp đi nhiều sinh mạng. (In the past, the smallpox epidemic claimed many lives.)
- Trái giống là một căn bệnh đã được thanh toán. (Smallpox is a disease that has been eradicated.)
Noun (Scar):
- Trên mặt ông ấy có vài vết trái giống. (There are a few pockmarks on his face.)
Adjective:
- Người đàn ông trái giống ấy rất tốt bụng. (That pockmarked man is very kind.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "trái giống" is considered regional, colloquial, and somewhat archaic in modern Vietnamese. The more standard and contemporary terms for smallpox are "bệnh đậu mùa" or simply "đậu mùa".
- It is primarily found in historical texts, literature, or in the speech of older generations, particularly from certain regions of Vietnam.
Variants and Related Words
Đậu mùa (n): Smallpox. The standard modern term.
- Tiêm vắc-xin phòng đậu mùa. (Get a smallpox vaccination.)
Thủy đậu (n): Chickenpox. A different, less severe viral illness. It is important not to confuse this with "trái giống".
- Trẻ em thường hay mắc bệnh thủy đậu. (Children often get chickenpox.)
Synonyms
- Smallpox: The disease itself.
- Variola: The formal medical term for smallpox.
- Pockmark: The scar left by the disease.
Notes on Usage
- Due to the global eradication of smallpox, the term is now almost exclusively used in a historical context or to describe lasting scars.
- When used as an adjective ("trái giống"), it can be considered direct and potentially insensitive when describing a person's appearance. More neutral terms like "có vết rỗ trên mặt" (having pitted scars on the face) are often preferred in polite conversation.