Definition

1. Noun:
   • Hidden virtue / secret virtue: Good deeds or moral merit accumulated quietly and without seeking recognition, often believed to bring blessings to the doer or their descendants.
   • Ancestral merit / stored virtue: The reservoir of good karma or virtuous acts performed by ancestors, which is thought to positively influence the fortune and well-being of their descendants.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông ấy sống lặng lẽ làm nhiều việc thiện, tích nhiều âm đức. (He lives quietly doing many good deeds, accumulating much hidden virtue.)
  • Gia đình họ hưởng phúc từ âm đức của tổ tiên. (His family enjoys blessings from the ancestral merit.)
  • Làm việc tốt mà không khoe khoang chính là tích âm đức. (Doing good deeds without boasting is precisely accumulating hidden virtue.)

Advanced Usage

• The concept is deeply rooted in traditional East Asian spiritual and philosophical beliefs, particularly concerning karma, fate, and familial legacy. It implies a moral economy where virtuous actions are a form of spiritual capital.

Variants and Related Words

• Âm phúc (n): Similar to "âm đức," meaning hidden blessings or fortune stemming from virtue.
• Đức độ (n): Moral integrity and virtuous character.
• Phúc đức (n): Happiness and virtue; the combined idea of blessings and moral merit.

Synonyms

• Hidden merit: Goodness that is not publicly known.
• Karmic merit: Virtue accumulated through actions, affecting future outcomes.
• Ancestral virtue: The moral goodness passed down from ancestors.

Related Idioms

• Tích âm đức: To accumulate hidden virtue.
  • Cứ sống tử tế, coi như là tích âm đức cho con cháu. (Just live kindly, consider it as accumulating hidden virtue for your descendants.)
• Hưởng âm đức: To enjoy the benefits of accumulated (ancestral) virtue.
  • Cả dòng họ đều hưởng âm đức của cụ tổ. (The entire lineage enjoys the merit of the great ancestor.)