xách tay

Một người đàn ông mang theo chiếc máy tính xách tay của mình vào quán cà phê.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Hand-carried; portable: Describes an item that is designed to be conveniently carried by hand, often due to its compact size and light weight. This is the most common meaning.
   • Duty-free; personally imported: Describes goods, often luxury or foreign items, brought into a country personally by an individual (e.g., in luggage) to avoid formal import taxes or commercial shipping. This is a very common colloquial usage in Vietnam.

2. Adverb:

   • By hand; personally carried: Describes the manner of transporting something, emphasizing it is carried personally rather than shipped commercially.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô ấy mua một chiếc túi xách tay rất đẹp. (She bought a very beautiful handbag.)
  • Anh ấy tặng tôi chai rượu whisky xách tay từ Pháp. (He gave me a bottle of whisky brought back personally from France.)
• Adverb:
  • Tôi mang chiếc máy tính này về xách tay từ Nhật Bản. (I brought this computer back by hand from Japan.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is deeply embedded in consumer culture to indicate authentic, foreign, or tax-advantaged goods. For example, "hàng xách tay" (hand-carried goods) implies items not available through local official distributors, often seen as more authentic or cheaper than officially imported goods, though without a local warranty.
• It can imply a small-scale, informal import channel, contrasting with formal "hàng nhập khẩu chính ngạch" (officially imported goods).

Variants and Related Words

• Hàng xách tay (n): Hand-carried goods; duty-free personal imports.
  • Cửa hàng này chuyên bán hàng xách tay từ Hàn Quốc. (This shop specializes in hand-carried goods from Korea.)
• Túi xách tay (n): Handbag.
  • Cô ấy để điện thoại trong túi xách tay. (She put her phone in her handbag.)

Synonyms

• Portable: Capable of being easily carried.
• Hand-carried: Transported personally by hand.
• Duty-free: Exempt from import taxes (in the context of personal imports).

Related Idioms

• Đi xách tay: To go empty-handed; to go without bringing anything.
  • Đến nhà người ta chơi mà đi xách tay thế không được. (It's not good to visit someone's house empty-handed like that.)