Definition

Noun: 1. Lover, romantic partner: A person with whom one shares a romantic or sexual relationship. This meaning can be neutral, referring to a boyfriend/girlfriend, but often carries specific connotations. 2. Mistress, paramour: A person involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with someone who is already married or in a committed relationship with another person. This is the more common and specific modern usage, implying an extramarital or illicit affair.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ta bị vợ bắt quả tang khi đang đi ăn với tình nhân. (He was caught red-handed by his wife while having dinner with his mistress.)
  • Câu chuyện kể về mối tình đau khổ giữa người đàn ông và tình nhân của mình. (The story tells of the painful love between the man and his lover.)
  • Trong xã hội cũ, quan hệ với tình nhân thường bị lên án. (In old society, relationships with a paramour were often condemned.)

Advanced Usage

• The word tình nhân is typically used to describe one person in the relationship (e.g., - she is his mistress). To refer to the pair, the phrase đôi tình nhân (the couple/lovers) is used, which can sound more literary or old-fashioned.
• It strongly implies a secretive or socially disapproved relationship, especially when one party is married. Using it to refer to a regular, socially accepted boyfriend/girlfriend (người yêu) can be inappropriate or carry a negative nuance.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhân tình (noun): A near-synonym for tình nhân, with the same primary meaning of a lover, especially in an extramarital context. It can sound slightly more colloquial or blunt.
  • Chuyện nhân tình thế thái thật khó nói. (Matters of lovers and worldly affairs are hard to discuss.)
• Tình địch (noun): Rival in love; a person competing for the affection of the same love interest.
• Người yêu (noun): Boyfriend/girlfriend; a neutral term for a romantic partner without the illicit connotation.

Synonyms

• Người tình (noun): Lover. This is a close synonym but can sometimes sound more poetic or literary than tình nhân.
• Bồ (noun, informal): A very common, colloquial term for lover/boyfriend/girlfriend. It can be neutral or, in context, also refer to a mistress.
• Mistress (English equivalent for the illicit meaning).
• Paramour (English equivalent, more formal/literary).

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Chuyện tình nhân thế thái: Affairs of the heart and the ways of the world; often refers to the complexities and moral ambiguities of romantic entanglements.
• Có tình nhân: To have a lover/mistress (implying an extramarital relationship).
  • Ông chủ bị nghi ngờ có tình nhân bên ngoài. (The boss is suspected of having a mistress on the side.)

noun

1. lover