tảo hôn
Definition
Noun:
- Child marriage / Early marriage: The act or practice of getting married at an excessively young age, typically before reaching legal adulthood or full physical and mental maturity.
Verb phrase (to describe the action):
- To marry early / To enter into child marriage: The act of a person, or the practice of a family or community, arranging or conducting a marriage where one or both spouses are minors.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- Tảo hôn là một hủ tục cần xóa bỏ. (Child marriage is a harmful custom that needs to be eradicated.)
- Tỷ lệ tảo hôn ở vùng núi vẫn còn cao. (The rate of early marriage in mountainous regions remains high.)
Verb phrase:
- Gia đình không nên để con cái tảo hôn. (Families should not let their children marry early.)
- Cô gái đó đã bị ép tảo hôn năm 16 tuổi. (That girl was forced into child marriage at the age of 16.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "tảo hôn" is often used in formal, legal, sociological, and public health contexts to discuss issues of human rights, gender equality, and community development.
- It implies a violation of laws (e.g., Vietnam's Marriage and Family Law sets the minimum age for marriage) and is associated with negative consequences for health, education, and personal development.
Variants and Related Words
- Kết hôn sớm (v/n): A more neutral or descriptive term for "early marriage," which may not always carry the same strong negative or illegal connotation as "tảo hôn."
- Kết hôn sớm có thể ảnh hưởng đến việc học. (Marrying early can affect one's education.)
Synonyms
- Child marriage: Emphasizes the youthfulness of the spouses, often below the legal age.
- Early marriage: A broader term that can include marriages considered too early by social or health standards, even if legally borderline.
Related Concepts
- Hôn nhân cưỡng ép (Forced marriage): Tảo hôn often involves an element of coercion from family or community.
- Hủ tục (Harmful custom/superstition): Tảo hôn is frequently categorized as a harmful traditional practice.