Definition

1. Verb:
   • To evacuate (from a dangerous area): The primary meaning of "tản cư" is to leave one's home or usual place of residence to escape danger, especially from war, natural disasters, or military conflict. It implies a temporary, organized, or necessary dispersal of a civilian population.
   • To disperse (for safety): It conveys the action of a group of people scattering or relocating from a concentrated area to safer, more scattered locations to avoid a common threat.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Trong chiến tranh, nhiều gia đình phải tản cư về nông thôn. (During the war, many families had to evacuate to the countryside.)
  • Chính quyền kêu gọi người dân vùng lũ tản cư đến nơi an toàn. (The authorities urged people in the flood zone to evacuate to a safe place.)
  • Dân làng tản cư vào rừng để tránh máy bay địch. (The villagers dispersed into the forest to avoid enemy aircraft.)

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term "tản cư" is deeply associated with the Indochina Wars and the Vietnam War, describing the mass movement of civilians fleeing combat zones or bombing campaigns. It often implies a state-organized or encouraged evacuation for strategic and humanitarian reasons.
  • Chính sách tản cư được thực hiện để bảo vệ tính mạng người dân. (The evacuation policy was implemented to protect the lives of the people.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sơ tán (v): to evacuate. This is a more modern and general synonym, often used for emergencies like fires or storms, while "tản cư" carries a stronger historical and wartime connotation.

  • Lực lượng chức năng đang sơ tán người dân khỏi tòa nhà cháy. (The functional forces are evacuating people from the burning building.)

• Di tản (v): to evacuate, to retreat (often in a military or urgent context).

  • Các phi công đã di tản khỏi máy bay bị hỏng. (The pilots evacuated from the damaged aircraft.)

Synonyms

• Evacuate: to remove someone from a place of danger to a safer place.
• Disperse: to spread over a wide area; to scatter.
• Relocate (for safety): to move to a new place, especially to escape danger.

Related Concepts

• Sơ tán dân: Civilian evacuation.
• Khu tản cư: Evacuation zone; area where evacuees are relocated.
  • Họ được đưa đến một khu tản cư ở tỉnh bên. (They were taken to an evacuation zone in the neighboring province.)

verb

1. to evacuate, to disperse