Personification in Vietnamese

In this post, Tiengviet24h will introduce to you: Personification in Vietnamese. Let’s start!

What is personification?

– Personification is a way of calling or describing things, plants, or animals with words used for people.

– Example:

+ Ba chú mèo con đang nằm ngủ say sưa (The three kittens are sleeping soundly) => “chú” is used for people, but in this sentence, it is used for kittens.

+ “Trâu ơi ta bảo trâu này / Trâu ra ngoài ruộng trâu cày với ta” => “ơi” is used for people (when calling someone), but in this sentence, it is used for the buffalo.

+ Trải qua bao mùa mưa nắng, cây đa vẫn hiên ngang đứng đó (Over many rainy and sunny seasons, the banyan tree still stands there) => “hiên ngang đứng đó” is used for people, but in this sentence, it is used for the banyan tree.

Classification

There are usually 3 main types of personification:

Using pronouns used for people to call things, plants or animals

– Things, plants or animals are called by pronouns used for people such as em, cô, chị, chú, bác, ông, bà…

– Example:

+ Những chú bò đang gặm cỏ ngoài đồng (The cows are grazing in the field) => use “chú” for the cows.

+ Ông trời mà khóc thì sẽ đổ mưa (If the sky cries, it will rain) => use “ông” for the sky.

Using words describing activities, characteristics of people to describe activities, characteristics of things, plants or animals

– Example:

+ Những con kiến đang chăm chỉ làm việc (The ants are working hard) => the adjective “chăm chỉ” and the verb “làm việc” are often used to describe personalities and activities of people, but in this sentence, they are used for the ants.

+ Nhà của ông nằm nép mình trong một ngõ nhỏ (His house is nestled in a small alley) => the verb “nằm nép mình” is often used for people, but in this sentence, it is used for the house.

+ Buổi tối, dòng sông khoác lên mình một chiếc áo màu đen (In the evening, the river wears a black shirt) => the verb “khoác” is used for people, but in this sentence, it is used for the river.

Calling things, plants or animals like calling people

– Example:

+ “Núi cao chi lắm núi ơi / Núi che mặt trời chẳng thấy người thương!” => call the mountain like call a person (“núi ơi”), consider the mountain as a friend to confide in.

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