xế tà

Mặt trời xế tà trên đỉnh đồi.

Definition

1. Noun (Literary):
   • The late afternoon sun; the declining sun: Refers specifically to the sun as it is setting or declining in the sky, often in the late afternoon. It evokes a poetic image of the sun's slanting rays.
   • Late afternoon; dusk: By extension, it can refer to the time of day when the sun is setting.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trời đã vào lúc xế tà. (The sky had reached the time of the declining sun.)
  • Ánh nắng xế tà chiếu qua khung cửa. (The late afternoon sunlight shone through the window frame.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "xế tà" is primarily used in literary, poetic, or descriptive contexts. It is not common in everyday spoken language.
• It often carries a connotation of melancholy, tranquility, or the passage of time.

Variants and Related Words

• Hoàng hôn (n): sunset, dusk. This is the standard, more common term for the evening.

  • Chúng tôi ngắm hoàng hôn trên biển. (We watched the sunset over the sea.)

• Chiều tà (n): a poetic phrase meaning "late afternoon" or "dusk," very similar in meaning and usage to "xế tà."

  • Bóng người thấp thoáng trong chiều tà. (Figures appeared faintly in the late afternoon.)

Synonyms

• The waning sun
• The setting sun
• Late afternoon light
• Dusk (for the time period)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bóng xế tà: a set phrase meaning "the shadow of the declining sun"; used to describe the late afternoon period.
  • Câu chuyện kết thúc trong bóng xế tà. (The story ended in the shadow of the declining sun.)