Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Triumphant; victorious: Describes the state or feeling of having achieved a significant victory or success, often accompanied by a sense of pride or superiority.
   • Smug; gloating: Carries a connotation of excessive pride or self-satisfaction in one's victory, often perceived negatively as boastful or rubbing it in.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau trận chung kết, đội nhà rời sân với vẻ mặt đắc thắng. (After the final match, the home team left the field with triumphant expressions.)
  • Anh ta nhìn tôi bằng ánh mắt đắc thắng. (He looked at me with a gloating look.)
  • Nụ cười đắc thắng đó khiến mọi người khó chịu. (That smug smile made everyone uncomfortable.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "đắc thắng" is primarily used as an adjective to describe a person's manner, expression, or attitude. It is rarely used as a verb in modern Vietnamese (like "to be victorious") without additional words. To express the action, phrases like "dành chiến thắng" (to win a victory) are more common.
• It often implies that the victory is being flaunted, making it different from a neutral word like "chiến thắng" (victory, noun).

Variants and Related Words

• Chiến thắng (n): Victory, win.
  • Chiến thắng này thuộc về toàn đội. (This victory belongs to the whole team.)
• Thắng lợi (n): Success, triumph (often used for larger, more formal endeavors).
  • Thắng lợi của cách mạng. (The triumph of the revolution.)
• Tự mãn (adj): Complacent, self-satisfied (shares the negative connotation of smugness but not necessarily linked to a recent victory).

Synonyms

• Triumphant: Having achieved a victory or success.
• Victorious: Having won a victory.
• Smug: Having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.
• Gloating: Dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Vẻ mặt đắc thắng: A triumphant/glouting look.
  • Hắn tiến về đích với vẻ mặt đắc thắng. (He headed for the finish line with a triumphant look.)
• Cười đắc thắng: To smile smugly; to give a gloating smile.
  • Cô ấy chỉ cười đắc thắng mà không nói gì. (She just gave a gloating smile without saying anything.)

verb

1. to be victorious