xuất môn
Definition
- Verb (archaic):
- To leave the parental home to marry (said of a young woman): The traditional meaning refers specifically to a daughter departing her family home upon marriage, marking her formal transition from her natal family to her husband's family.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Con gái lớn lên rồi sẽ xuất môn. (A grown daughter will eventually leave home to marry.)
- Theo phong tục xưa, ngày xuất môn là ngày trọng đại. (According to old customs, the day of leaving home to marry was a major event.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is historical and literary. In modern Vietnamese, the common phrases for getting married are "lấy chồng" (for a woman) or "kết hôn" (gender-neutral). "Xuất môn" may appear in historical texts, period dramas, or formal, poetic contexts describing traditional customs.
Variants and Related Words
- Kết hôn (v): to marry, to get married (modern, general term).
- Lấy chồng (v): for a woman to marry a husband (modern, common phrase).
- Thành hôn (v): to wed (formal/literary, but less archaic than "xuất môn").
Synonyms
- To marry (out): specifically for a woman leaving her family.
- To be wedded off (archaic): carries a similar traditional connotation.
Cultural Note
- "Xuất môn" reflects the Confucian family structure prevalent in pre-modern Vietnam, where marriage for a woman was seen as formally transferring her primary allegiance from her father to her husband. The phrase is intrinsically linked to patrilocal residence, where the wife moves to live with her husband's family.