tương kiến
Definition
- Verb (archaic, literary):
- To see each other; to meet each other: Refers to the mutual act of two or more parties coming together and seeing one another. It implies a reciprocal encounter.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Sau mười năm xa cách, họ tương kiến trong niềm vui khôn xiết. (After ten years apart, they met each other with immense joy.)
- Hai nhà lãnh đạo tương kiến để bàn về hòa bình. (The two leaders met to discuss peace.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is primarily used in formal, literary, or poetic contexts. In modern, everyday Vietnamese, phrases like gặp nhau (to meet each other) or gặp gỡ (to meet) are far more common.
Variants and Related Words
Gặp nhau (v): to meet each other (modern, common usage).
- Chúng tôi hẹn gặp nhau vào cuối tuần. (We arranged to meet each other on the weekend.)
Hội kiến (v): to have an audience or meeting (formal, often for officials).
- Đại sứ hội kiến với tổng thống. (The ambassador had an audience with the president.)
Synonyms
- To meet: to come into the presence of another person or people.
- To encounter: to meet, especially unexpectedly.
- To see each other: a direct translation of the mutual action.
Related Idioms
- While "tương kiến" itself is not typically part of a common idiom, it shares the classical, formal tone found in literary phrases about meetings, such as "bạch đầu tương kiến" (to meet again in old age), though this is a constructed example illustrating its stylistic use.