Definition

1. Noun:
   • Heaven, the Sky (as a personified entity): "Ông xanh" is a literary and somewhat archaic Vietnamese term that personifies the sky or heaven as a benevolent, elderly male figure. It refers to the celestial realm or the heavens, often in a poetic or reverential context.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cầu mong ông xanh phù hộ. (I pray for Heaven's protection.)
  • Trông lên ông xanh cao vời vợi. (Looking up at the vast, lofty sky.)
  • Ông xanh đã định như vậy. (Heaven has decreed it so.)

Advanced Usage

• "Trách ông xanh": To blame Heaven/Fate; to express grievance towards fate or destiny.

  • Nàng than thở, trách ông xanh bất công. (She lamented, blaming an unjust Heaven.)

• "Hỏi ông xanh": To question Heaven; to seek answers from the heavens, often in despair or deep contemplation.

  • Biết bao câu hỏi chất chứa, muốn hỏi ông xanh. (So many pent-up questions, wanting to ask Heaven.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ông trời (n): A more common, less literary synonym for "ông xanh," also meaning "Heaven" or "the Sky (personified)."

  • Nhờ ơn ông trời. (Thanks to Heaven's grace.)

• Thiên đàng (n): Heaven (often with Christian connotations or as a paradise).

• Bầu trời (n): The sky (the physical sky, without personification).

Synonyms

• Trời: Heaven, sky (the most common and neutral term).
• Thượng đế: God, the Supreme Being (more specific to a deity).
• Thiên đường: Paradise, heaven.

Related Idioms

• "Ông xanh có mắt": Heaven has eyes; meaning justice or retribution will eventually come.

  • Hãy tin rằng ông xanh có mắt. (Believe that Heaven has eyes.)

• "Phó mặc cho ông xanh": To leave it to Heaven; to resign oneself to fate.

  • Mọi việc giờ đành phó mặc cho ông xanh. (Now, everything must be left to Heaven.)

1. (cũ; văn chương)
2. Heaven