Definition

Verb: - To show filial piety / To fulfill one's filial duty: The core meaning of "báo hiếu" is to express gratitude and repay the profound debt one owes to one's parents for their care and upbringing. This encompasses actions taken both during their lives and after their deaths. - To provide a proper funeral for one's deceased parents: A traditional and specific aspect of "báo hiếu" involves organizing a respectful and adequate funeral ceremony to honor one's parents after they have passed away.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Làm bác sĩ thành đạt là cách anh ấy báo hiếu cha mẹ. (Becoming a successful doctor is his way of showing filial piety to his parents.)
  • Con cái có trách nhiệm báo hiếu bằng tình yêu thương và sự chăm sóc. (Children have the responsibility to show filial gratitude through love and care.)
  • Gia đình đã lo chu toàn việc báo hiếu khi cụ ông qua đời. (The family meticulously arranged the funeral to fulfill their filial duty when the patriarch passed away.)

Advanced Usage

• The concept is deeply rooted in Confucian ethics and Vietnamese family values. It is considered a lifelong moral obligation, not a single act.
• "Báo hiếu" often implies a reciprocal relationship: parents raise and sacrifice for children, and children later repay that debt through respect, material support, and obedience.

Variants and Related Words

• Hiếu thảo (adj): filial, devoted to one's parents.
  • Cô ấy là một người con rất hiếu thảo. (She is a very filial child.)
• Chữ Hiếu (n): the concept of filial piety.
  • Chữ Hiếu là giá trị cốt lõi trong văn hóa Á Đông. (Filial piety is a core value in East Asian culture.)

Synonyms

• To repay parental love/gratitude: To return the kindness received from parents.
• To honor one's parents: To show respect and admiration for parents.
• To fulfill filial obligations: To perform the duties expected of a child toward their parents.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Báo hiếu, báo ân: To repay piety and gratitude (often extending beyond parents to teachers or benefactors).
  • Anh ta luôn nhớ ơn thầy cô, đó là báo hiếu, báo ân. (He always remembers his teachers' kindness; that is repaying piety and gratitude.)
• Công cha như núi Thái Sơn, nghĩa mẹ như nước trong nguồn chảy ra: A proverb describing the immense debt owed to parents, providing the fundamental reason for "báo hiếu."
  • (The father's merit is as great as Mount Tai, the mother's love is like water flowing from a source.)

verb

1. To show gratitude to one's parents
2. To give a decent funeral to one's dead parents