Definition

1. Noun:

   • Head, Leader: A person who is in charge of a unit, group, or organization. This is the most common meaning.
   • Eldest Son (in a traditional family system): The first-born son, especially of the principal wife, who holds a primary position in the family hierarchy and inheritance rights.

2. Adjective:

   • Eldest; Senior: Refers to the first-born or oldest among siblings.
   • Chief, Principal, Head: Describes the main or leading position within a group.

3. Combining Form (Bound Morpheme):

   • A word element used before or after another word to form a compound noun meaning "head of" or "chief of". It cannot stand alone with this meaning.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Anh ấy là trưởng phòng kinh doanh. (He is the head of the sales department.)
  • Theo truyền thống, con trưởng sẽ thừa kế nhà. (Traditionally, the eldest son will inherit the house.)

• Adjective:

  • Đây là anh trưởng của tôi. (This is my eldest brother.)
  • Chị ấy là kỹ sư trưởng của dự án. (She is the chief engineer of the project.)

Advanced Usage

• "con trưởng": The eldest child (traditionally, the eldest son). This term is rooted in the now-abolished primogeniture system.

  • Trong gia đình phong kiến, con trưởng có nhiều quyền lợi hơn. (In feudal families, the eldest son had more privileges.)

• "chế độ con trưởng": Primogeniture (the right of the firstborn son to inherit).

  • Chế độ con trưởng đã không còn phổ biến. (Primogeniture is no longer common.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trưởng thành (adj/verb): Mature; to mature/grow up. (Note: This is a compound word where "trưởng" contributes the meaning of growth towards completion).

  • Cô ấy là một người rất trưởng thành. (She is a very mature person.)

• Trưởng giả (noun, often pejorative): Bourgeois; a person concerned with materialistic and conventional values.

  • Lối sống trưởng giả. (A bourgeois lifestyle.)

• Đội trưởng (n): Team leader, captain.

  • Đội trưởng của đội bóng. (The captain of the football team.)

• Thôn trưởng (n): Village chief.

  • Thôn trưởng giải quyết tranh chấp. (The village chief resolves disputes.)

Synonyms

• Leader: A person who leads or commands a group.
• Head: The person in charge of an organization or department.
• Chief: A leader or ruler of a people or clan; the most important or main person.
• Eldest: (Of one out of a group of related or otherwise associated people) having lived the longest.

Related Idioms

• Anh trưởng, chị cả: A phrase referring to the eldest brother and eldest sister, emphasizing their seniority and traditional responsibilities within the family.
  • Công việc này nên hỏi ý kiến anh trưởng, chị cả. (For this matter, we should ask the eldest brother and sister.)

noun

1. head, leader

adj

1. eldest; chief, head