Definition

1. Noun:
   • Provincial capital (historical): The town or city that served as the administrative center of a province in Vietnam during the French colonial period and the former Republic of Vietnam (pre-1975). It was where the main provincial government offices were located.
   • Provincial seat (historical): The administrative headquarters of a province under the former administrative system.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Thành phố Huế từng là tỉnh lỵ của tỉnh Thừa Thiên. (The city of Hue was once the provincial capital of Thua Thien province.)
  • Tòa nhà hành chính cũ của tỉnh lỵ nay đã trở thành bảo tàng. (The old administrative building of the provincial seat has now become a museum.)
  • Theo sử sách, thị xã này được chọn làm tỉnh lỵ từ năm 1899. (According to historical records, this town was chosen as the provincial capital in 1899.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "tỉnh lỵ" is primarily used in historical, geographical, or administrative contexts referring to the period before 1975. In contemporary official Vietnamese administrative language (post-1975), the term "tỉnh lỵ" is largely obsolete. The current term for the administrative center of a province is "thành phố tỉnh lỵ" (provincial city) or simply the name of the city that serves as the provincial capital (e.g., ).
• It can be used descriptively for historical sites or buildings: (the old administrative quarter of the provincial capital).

Variants and Related Words

• Tỉnh (n): Province.
• Thành phố tỉnh lỵ (n): Provincial city (modern term).
• Trung tâm hành chính (n): Administrative center.
• Thủ phủ (n): Capital (used for a national capital or sometimes for a provincial capital in a broader sense, but not the specific historical term tỉnh lỵ).
• Huyện lỵ (n): District seat/town (the administrative center of a district, analogous to tỉnh lỵ but at a district level).

Synonyms

• Provincial capital (historical)
• Provincial seat (historical)
• County town (in some comparative contexts, though not a direct equivalent)

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Đóng đô ở tỉnh lỵ: To establish the seat of government in the provincial capital (historical context).
  • Chính quyền thực dân đã đóng đô ở tỉnh lỵ mới này. (The colonial government established its seat in this new provincial capital.)

noun

1. township