Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pray for good fortune in love: "cầu duyên" refers to the act of praying to deities, spirits, or at temples to ask for blessings, luck, or a favorable outcome in one's romantic life or to find a good partner.
   • To seek a romantic connection: It can also imply the action of putting oneself out there or engaging in activities with the hope of finding love.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy đến chùa để cầu duyên. (She went to the temple to pray for good fortune in love.)
  • Nhiều bạn trẻ đi lễ chùa đầu năm với mong muốn cầu duyên. (Many young people visit temples at the beginning of the year with the wish to pray for love.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a humorous or light-hearted tone, acknowledging that finding love can depend on luck or fate, beyond one's direct control.
  • Anh ấy nói đùa rằng phải đi cầu duyên thôi vì mãi vẫn chưa có người yêu. (He joked that he must go pray for love because he still hasn't found a girlfriend.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cầu tự (verb): To pray for a child, to pray for offspring.
• Cầu phúc (verb): To pray for happiness or good fortune.
• Cầu nguyện (verb): To pray (general term).

Synonyms

• Khấn vái cho chuyện tình duyên: To pray and make offerings for matters of love and marriage.
• Xin duyên lành: To ask for a good/auspicious romantic connection.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Cầu được ước thấy": Literally "to pray for something and have it come true"; equivalent to "wish come true." While not specific to love, it can be used in the context of "cầu duyên."
  • Cô ấy đi cầu duyên và mong sao cầu được ước thấy. (She went to pray for love and hopes her wish comes true.)

1. (đùa vui) Sray for good chances in love