Definition

Verb: - To attend a formal, celebratory meal with many guests, typically featuring numerous delicious and elaborate dishes; to feast at a banquet.

Usage

The verb "ăn tiệc" describes the specific action of participating in a formal feast or banquet. It implies that the meal is a special event, not a regular daily meal, and is often held for celebrations, ceremonies, or important gatherings.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tối nay gia đình tôi được mời đi ăn tiệc cưới. (Tonight my family is invited to attend a wedding banquet.)
  • Công ty sẽ tổ chức cho nhân viên ăn tiệc cuối năm. (The company will organize an end-of-year feast for the employees.)
  • Họ ăn tiệc rất sang trọng tại khách sạn năm sao. (They feasted very luxuriously at the five-star hotel.)

Advanced Usage

• "ăn tiệc tùng": This is a more emphatic or repetitive form, suggesting frequent attendance at feasts or a series of banquets. It can sometimes carry a slightly negative connotation of excessive partying.
  • Anh ấy suốt ngày ăn tiệc tùng, ít khi ở nhà. (He's always out feasting and partying, rarely at home.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tiệc (n): The noun meaning "feast," "banquet," or "party." This is the core noun that forms the compound verb "ăn tiệc."
  • Tiệc cưới (wedding banquet), tiệc sinh nhật (birthday party).
• Dự tiệc (v): A more formal synonym meaning "to attend a banquet." "Dự" emphasizes the act of attending or participating.
  • Ông ấy dự tiệc chiêu đãi của đại sứ quán. (He attended the reception banquet at the embassy.)
• Yến tiệc (n): A literary or formal term for a lavish feast or banquet.

Synonyms

• Dự tiệc: To attend a banquet (more formal).
• Đi dự tiệc: To go to a banquet.
• Chè chén (idiomatic): To eat and drink heartily, often in a celebratory context, but can imply revelry.

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Ăn tiệc buffet: To have a buffet meal/feast.
  • Khách sạn phục vụ ăn tiệc buffet vào Chủ nhật. (The hotel serves a buffet brunch/feast on Sundays.)
• Ăn tiệc ngồi: To attend a seated/formal dinner banquet.
• Mời đi ăn tiệc: To invite someone to a feast/banquet.

Related Idioms

• Ăn cỗ đi trước, lội nước theo sau: (Literally: Go first to a feast, go last when wading through water). An idiom advising to be early for good things (like a feast) but cautious in dangerous situations.
• Ăn trên ngồi trốc / Ăn trên ngồi trước: (Literally: To eat sitting at the top/front). To be treated with great respect and honor, as an important guest at a banquet.

verb

1. to attend a banquet; to feast