báo cừu
Definition
- Verb:
- To take revenge, to avenge: "báo cừu" is an archaic Vietnamese verb meaning to seek retribution or to repay a wrong or harm that has been done.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Người anh hùng ấy thề sẽ báo cừu cho gia tộc. (That hero swore to avenge his clan.)
- Trong các câu chuyện cổ, nhân vật chính thường phải báo cừu cho cha mẹ. (In ancient stories, the main character often has to avenge their parents.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is primarily found in classical literature, historical texts, or contexts imitating archaic speech. It is rarely used in modern conversational Vietnamese.
Variants and Related Words
- Báo thù (verb): This is the modern, standard term for "to take revenge, to avenge."
- Hắn muốn báo thù kẻ đã phản bội mình. (He wants to take revenge on the one who betrayed him.)
- Trả thù (verb): Another common modern synonym meaning "to retaliate, to get revenge."
- Thù (noun): Meaning "hatred, enmity, grievance," which is the root concept in "báo cừu."
Synonyms
- Báo thù: to avenge.
- Trả thù: to retaliate, to get revenge.
- Rửa hận: to wipe out a humiliation (a more literary synonym).
Related Phrases
- Mối thù truyền kiếp: a feud, a long-standing vendetta.
- Hai gia đình đó có mối thù truyền kiếp. (Those two families have a long-standing feud.)
- Ăn miếng trả miếng: an idiom meaning "tit for tat," a form of direct retaliation.
- Đó không phải là báo cừu mà chỉ là ăn miếng trả miếng. (That's not taking revenge; it's just tit for tat.)