Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To bide one's time: To wait patiently for a favorable opportunity or the right moment to act, often while preparing or observing the situation.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Anh ta không vội vàng phản ứng mà chọn cách đợi thời. (He did not rush to react but chose to bide his time.)
  • Chiến lược của họ là đợi thời cho đến khi thị trường ổn định. (Their strategy is to bide their time until the market stabilizes.)

Advanced Usage

• This phrase often implies a strategic, calculated, and patient form of waiting, rather than passive inaction. It suggests the person is ready to act when the conditions are right.
  • Nhà đầu tư khôn ngoan biết cách đợi thời để mua vào ở mức giá thấp nhất. (A wise investor knows how to bide their time to buy at the lowest price.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chờ thời cơ: To wait for an opportunity. This is a very close synonym, though "đợi thời" can sound slightly more literary or strategic.
• Nằm im chờ thời: To lie low and bide one's time. This variant emphasizes staying quiet and inactive while waiting.
• Chính sách đợi thời / Chủ nghĩa đợi thời: The noun forms translate to "a policy of waiting" or "attentisme" (a loanword from French), referring to a political or strategic stance of deliberate inaction while waiting for events to develop.

Synonyms

• Chờ đợi thời cơ: To await the opportune moment.
• Kiên nhẫn chờ đợi: To wait patiently.

Related Idioms

• "Dĩ hòa vi quý, đợi thời hành động": Prioritize harmony and bide your time before acting. This proverb combines the idea of maintaining peace while waiting for the right moment.
• "Ẩn nhẫn đợi thời": To endure and bide one's time. This emphasizes忍耐 (endurance) as part of the waiting process.

1. Bide one's time