cham
cham — noun
1. an ethnic group from central and southern Vietnam, once the rulers of the Champa
an ethnic group from central and southern Vietnam, once the rulers of the Champa kingdom (2nd–15th centuries), who today speak an Austronesian language and practice Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism.
The Cham have lived along the central coast of Vietnam since the time of the Champa kingdom.
uncountable: 'the Cham' takes a plural verb referring to the whole people
The brick temples at My Son show how the Cham decorated stone walls with carvings of dancers and gods.
collocation: 'brick temples' in the context of Cham architecture
The Cham today are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, and their Kate festival draws visitors from across the country.
Gabriel watched Cham women weave cotton cloth on wooden hand-looms during his visit to their village.
- people
a broader term for any group of humans who share culture or language
- ethnic group
the neutral, formal term for a community sharing ancestry, language, or traditions
- minority
highlights that the group is a smaller part of a larger national population
文法句型
the Cham + singular verb
the Cham people / the Cham community
用法筆記
This sense always refers to the group as a whole, not an individual. For one person, use sense 2.
2. a person who belongs to the Cham ethnic group.
a person who belongs to the Cham ethnic group.
A Cham named Noor gave a talk at the city museum about his family's traditions.
countable: 'a Cham' refers to one person
Gabriela met a Cham potter near Phan Rang and learned to shape clay pots without using a spinning wheel.
countable: 'a Cham potter' as an individual
The village elder, a Cham himself, showed the carvings of dancers and said they told stories of the harvest season.
Many Chams now live in the fishing villages along Cambodia's Mekong River and near Ho Chi Minh City.
- member
a neutral term for any person belonging to a group, not specific to the Cham
文法句型
a Cham
the Cham (as a member)
用法筆記
Use a Cham when referring to one individual member of the group. For the group as a whole, use the Cham (sense 1). The plural form Chams (with an s) is accepted but less common than using the Cham as a collective.
常見錯誤
3. the Austronesian language spoken by the Cham people, written in a script derived
the Austronesian language spoken by the Cham people, written in a script derived from ancient Indian writing systems.
Cham belongs to the Austronesian language family, which also includes Malay and Tagalog.
uncountable: 'Cham' as a language name takes a singular verb
Mira is learning to speak Cham so that she can talk to her grandmother in the village.
collocation: 'speak Cham'
The old temple walls contain inscriptions written in Cham from the 9th century.
Researchers estimate that about 200,000 villagers speak Cham across Vietnam and Cambodia.
The Cham script uses characters from ancient Indian writing, unlike the Latin letters used in English.
- Austronesian language
the language family that Cham belongs to, which includes Malay, Tagalog, and Hawaiian
文法句型
speak Cham
in Cham
Cham script / Cham writing
用法筆記
As a language name, Cham is uncountable and does not take an article. Say 'speak Cham' not 'speak the Cham'.