Definition

1. Verb:
   • To get retribution for one's deed: The concept that good or bad actions will inevitably lead to corresponding good or bad consequences, often seen as a cosmic or karmic law.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Làm việc ác ắt sẽ bị báo ứng. (Do evil deeds and you will inevitably face retribution.)
  • Theo luật nhân quả, báo ứng là điều không thể tránh khỏi. (According to the law of karma, retribution is unavoidable.)

Advanced Usage

• "Báo ứng nhãn tiền": To receive immediate retribution.
  • Hắn gây tội ác và chịu báo ứng nhãn tiền. (He committed a crime and suffered immediate retribution.)
• "Quả báo": This is a closely related Buddhist term meaning the "fruit" or consequence of one's actions (karma), often used in similar contexts to describe retribution.
  • Mọi hành động đều sẽ gặp quả báo tương ứng. (Every action will meet its corresponding karmic result.)

Variants and Related Words

• Báo oán (verb): To take revenge, to retaliate. This focuses more on a personal act of vengeance rather than an impersonal cosmic law.
  • Họ tìm cách báo oán kẻ thù. (They sought to take revenge on their enemy.)
• Ứng báo (verb): An alternative, less common word order with the same meaning as "báo ứng".
• Nhân quả (noun): Cause and effect; karma. This is the broader philosophical principle underlying the concept of "báo ứng".
  • Tin vào luật nhân quả. (To believe in the law of cause and effect.)

Synonyms

• Trả giá: To pay the price (for something).
• Gánh chịu hậu quả: To bear the consequences.
• Đền tội: To atone for a crime/sin.

Related Idioms

• "Ở hiền gặp lành, ở ác gặp dữ": Literally "Be good, meet good; be evil, meet evil." This proverb perfectly encapsulates the traditional belief in "báo ứng".
  • Cô ấy luôn tin vào câu "ở hiền gặp lành, ở ác gặp dữ". (She always believes in the saying that goodness begets goodness and evil begets evil.)
• "Gieo gió gặt bão": To sow the wind and reap the whirlwind; to face severe consequences for one's actions.
  • Hắn đã gieo gió và giờ phải gặt bão. (He sowed the wind and now must reap the whirlwind.)

verb

1. To get retribution for one's deed