Definition

1. Numeral:

   • Ten thousand: A specific number, equivalent to 10,000. It is used in the Sino-Vietnamese counting system, often for large, approximate, or rhetorical quantities.
   • A myriad; countless; innumerable: Used figuratively to express a very large, indefinite number, similar to "myriad" or "countless" in English.

2. Noun:

   • A floating fishing village; a community of boat-dwelling fishermen: Refers to a traditional settlement of fishing families living on boats or stilt houses on rivers or coastal waters.

Usage Examples

• Numeral (Ten thousand):

  • Thành phố có dân số hơn một vạn người. (The city has a population of over ten thousand people.)
  • Anh ấy đã đọc vạn cuốn sách. (He has read myriads of books.)

• Noun (Fishing village):

  • Những người dân vạn chài sống hòa mình với sông nước. (The people of the fishing village live in harmony with the river.)

Advanced Usage

• "vạn sự khởi đầu nan": Literally "ten thousand things, the beginning is difficult." An idiom meaning "The first step is always the hardest" or "All things are difficult before they are easy."

  • Đừng nản lòng, vạn sự khởi đầu nan mà. (Don't be discouraged, the first step is always the hardest.)

• "vạn sự như ý": Literally "ten thousand things as desired." A common New Year's greeting meaning "May all your wishes come true" or "All the best."

  • Chúc bạn năm mới vạn sự như ý. (I wish you a New Year with all your wishes coming true.)

• "vạn tử nhất sinh": Literally "ten thousand deaths, one life." An idiom describing an extremely dangerous situation where survival is against all odds; a narrow escape.

  • Anh ta thoát khỏi vụ tai nạn trong tình trạng vạn tử nhất sinh. (He escaped the accident in a miraculously narrow escape.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chữ Vạn (卍/卐): The swastika symbol, an ancient religious icon in Hinduism, Buddhism, and other cultures, representing auspiciousness, eternity, and good fortune. It is distinct from the Nazi symbol.
  • Biểu tượng chữ Vạn thường thấy trong các ngôi chùa Phật giáo. (The swastika symbol is commonly seen in Buddhist temples.)

Synonyms

• Mười nghìn: Ten thousand (the pure Vietnamese equivalent).
• Hàng vạn: Tens of thousands; myriad.
• Vô số: Countless; innumerable.
• Làng chài: Fishing village (a more common term for the community).

Related Idioms

• "Nhất bản vạn lợi": Literally "one capital, ten thousand profits." Means a highly profitable venture or investment.
• "Thiên biến vạn hóa": Literally "a thousand changes, ten thousand transformations." Means ever-changing; myriad changes; extremely variable.

noun

1. ten thousand