Definition

1. Verb (archaic):
   • To take revenge, to avenge: To inflict harm in return for a wrong or injury suffered; to retaliate.
   • To require, to repay (good or evil): To return or repay an action, whether a kindness or a wrong, in a corresponding manner.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn thề sẽ báo phục cho cái chết của cha mình. (He swore to avenge his father's death.)
  • Làm ơn thì được báo phục bằng ơn, làm ác thì bị báo phục bằng oán. (Do good and it will be repaid with good; do evil and it will be repaid with resentment.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "báo phục" is considered archaic and is primarily found in classical literature, historical texts, or proverbs. It conveys a sense of cosmic or moral retribution, often implying that actions inevitably circle back to the doer.

Variants and Related Words

• Báo thù (v): to take revenge, to retaliate. This is the modern, more commonly used synonym.
  • Nó muốn báo thù kẻ đã phản bội mình. (He wants to take revenge on the one who betrayed him.)
• Trả thù (v): to get revenge.
  • Họ âm mưu trả thù đối thủ. (They plotted to get revenge on their rival.)

Synonyms

• Avenge: To inflict punishment for a wrong on behalf of oneself or another.
• Retaliate: To make an attack in return for a similar attack.
• Requite: To make appropriate return for (a benefit, service, or injury).

Related Idioms and Proverbs

• Ăn miếng trả miếng: An eye for an eye; tit for tat. This idiom reflects a similar concept of direct retaliation as implied by "báo phục".
  • Cuộc tranh chấp đó chỉ là ăn miếng trả miếng. (That dispute was just tit for tat.)
• Ở hiền gặp lành, ở ác gặp ác: Good begets good, evil begets evil. This proverb encapsulates the broader moral principle of retribution inherent in "báo phục".
  • Cô ấy tin vào luật "ở hiền gặp lành, ở ác gặp ác". (She believes in the law that "good begets good, evil begets evil.")

1. (từ cũ, nghĩa cũ) Revevge, avenge