Definition

1. Verb:
   • To make up for, to compensate: To provide something good to offset a loss, deficiency, or negative situation.
   • To assist in settling down, to provide for: To help someone, especially a family member, establish a stable life by providing necessary support.
   • To reciprocate, to repay: To return a favour or kindness, though often used in contexts where full repayment is difficult or impossible.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cần bù đắp thiệt hại. (We need to compensate for the damage.)
  • Tình đồng chí bù đắp những thiếu thốn về tình cảm gia đình. (Comradeship makes up for the lack of family affection.)
  • Bố mẹ luôn cố gắng bù đắp cho con cái. (Parents always try to provide for their children/to help their children settle down.)
  • Ơn ấy không lấy gì bù đắp được. (Such a favour cannot be reciprocated.)

Advanced Usage

• Often used with abstract deficits like emotional lack, loss of time, or moral debt, not just material loss.
• Carries a nuanced sense of filling a void or balancing a scale, implying a previous state of insufficiency.

Variants and Related Words

• Bù lại (v): A more casual synonym meaning to make up for or offset something.
• Đền bù (v): Often used for material compensation or reparations, especially in legal or formal contexts.
• Bồi thường (v): Specifically means to compensate financially for damages or losses.

Synonyms

• Compensate: To give something to counterbalance a loss.
• Make up for: To provide something that corrects a deficiency.
• Reciprocate: To return a favour or gesture.
• Offset: To counterbalance or compensate for.

Related Idioms

• Bù đắp tổn thất: To make up for losses.
• Bù đắp công ơn: To repay a debt of gratitude (often used to express the difficulty of full repayment).

verb

1. To make up for, to compensate
   • bù đắp thiệt hại
     to compensate for the damage
   • tình đồng chí bù đắp những thiếu thốn về tình cảm gia đình
     comradeship makes up for lack of family affection
2. To assist in settling down, to help settle down
   • bù đắp cho con cái
     to help one's children settle down
3. To reciprocate
   • ơn ấy không lấy gì bù đắp được
     such a favour cannot be reciprocated