Definition

Noun: 1. Whereabouts, traces: Marks, signs, or information left behind that can be used to find or identify a person or thing; the location or known activities of a person, especially when they are difficult to find. 2. Background, origins: Information about a person's history, origin, or identity.

Usage Examples

• Whereabouts/Traces:
  • Cảnh sát đang truy tìm tung tích của nghi phạm. (The police are searching for the whereabouts of the suspect.)
  • Kẻ trộm khéo léo, không để lại tung tích gì tại hiện trường. (The thief was skillful and left no trace at the scene.)
• Background/Origins:
  • Không ai biết rõ tung tích thật sự của người đàn ông bí ẩn đó. (No one knows the true background of that mysterious man.)
  • Hai bên đã biết rõ tung tích của nhau trước khi hợp tác. (Both sides knew each other's origins clearly before cooperating.)

Advanced Usage

• Mất tung tích: To disappear, to go missing (literally: to lose one's trace).
  • Chiếc máy bay đã mất tung tích trên biển. (The airplane disappeared over the sea.)
• Theo dõi tung tích: To track someone's movements/whereabouts.
  • Cơ quan tình báo theo dõi tung tích của điệp viên. (The intelligence agency tracked the movements of the spy.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tông tích (noun): This is a variant spelling with the same meaning and usage as "tung tích". It is considered slightly less common in modern usage but is fully interchangeable.
  • Tra cứu tông tích của một người. (To look up a person's background.)

Synonyms

• Dấu vết (noun): Trace, mark, evidence. (Focuses more on the physical sign left behind.)
• Lai lịch (noun): Background, personal history, provenance. (Focuses more on personal or historical origin.)
• Vị trí (noun): Location, position. (A more general term for place, not implying something is hidden.)

Notes on Different Meanings

The two primary meanings are closely related but have different emphases: 1. The first meaning (whereabouts/traces) is dynamic and investigative. It is about finding someone or something based on clues or determining their current location. 2. The second meaning (background/origins) is static and informational. It refers to known facts about a person's past and identity.

This word is most commonly used in contexts related to investigation, mystery, secrecy, or when discussing someone's unknown or hidden past.

noun

1. whereabouts, trace