Definitions

1. Verb:
   • To implore, to beseech, to entreat earnestly: The act of making a very serious, urgent, and often humble request or plea to someone, typically for help, mercy, or a favor. It conveys a sense of desperation or deep need.
   • To invoke, to pray to (a deity or higher power): The act of calling upon a god, spirit, or sacred entity through words, often in a ritualistic or solemn manner, to ask for assistance, blessing, or intervention.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người dân cầu khẩu chính quyền giúp đỡ sau trận lũ. (The people implored the authorities for help after the flood.)
  • Bà lão thành tâm cầu khẩu các vị thần phù hộ. (The old woman sincerely prayed to the gods for protection.)

Advanced Usage

• "cầu khẩu van xin": This is a common collocation that intensifies the meaning, combining "cầu khẩu" (to implore) with "van xin" (to beg), emphasizing a state of desperate and repeated pleading.
  • Anh ta cầu khẩu van xin họ tha mạng. (He desperately begged them to spare his life.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cầu xin (verb): To beg, to plead. This is a more common and slightly less formal synonym for "cầu khẩu".
• Khẩn cầu (verb): To urgently beseech, to entreat. This word also emphasizes urgency and earnestness.
• Cầu nguyện (verb): To pray. This word is specifically used for religious or spiritual prayer, similar to the second meaning of "cầu khẩu".

Synonyms

• Nài nỉ: To persistently plead or beg.
• Van nài: To beseech, to entreat (often with a connotation of humility).

Related Phrases

• Lời cầu khẩu (noun phrase): An entreaty, a plea, an invocation. This refers to the words spoken during the act of imploring or praying.
  • Lời cầu khẩu của cô ấy nghe thật thống thiết. (Her plea sounded truly poignant.)