đồng bào
Definition
- Noun:
- Compatriot; fellow countryman/countrywoman: A person who shares the same nation or fatherland. This is the most common and modern meaning, emphasizing national unity and shared identity among all people of Vietnam.
- Brothers and sisters born from the same womb: The original, literal meaning of the word, referring to siblings from the same parents. This meaning is now primarily historical or used in very specific contexts.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Chủ tịch Hồ Chí Minh kêu gọi toàn thể đồng bào đoàn kết. (President Ho Chi Minh called for all compatriots to unite.)
- Đồng bào các dân tộc vùng cao. (Compatriots from the ethnic groups in the highlands.)
- Tình cảm ruột thịt giữa những người đồng bào. (The flesh-and-blood bond between those born from the same womb.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "đồng bào" carries a profound emotional and political weight in Vietnamese. It is often used in formal speeches, official communications, and patriotic contexts to invoke a sense of shared destiny, mutual responsibility, and national solidarity among all Vietnamese people, regardless of ethnicity or region.
Variants and Related Words
- Kiều bào (n): Overseas Vietnamese; compatriots living abroad.
- Kiều bào luôn hướng về Tổ quốc. (Overseas Vietnamese always turn their hearts toward the Fatherland.)
Synonyms
- Compatriot: A person from the same country.
- Fellow citizen: A person belonging to the same state.
- Countryman/Countrywoman: A person from one's own country.
Related Idioms
- "Đồng bào cả nước": Compatriots across the entire country.
- Lời chúc Tết gửi đến đồng bào cả nước. (New Year's greetings sent to compatriots across the entire country.)