Definition

1. Verb:
   • To seek friendship or closer ties: The act of making overtures or advances to establish a friendly or amicable relationship with someone.
   • To propose marriage (archaic/formal): The traditional act of formally asking for someone's hand in marriage, often involving a matchmaker or intermediary.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta đang cố gắng cầu thân với giám đốc mới. (He is trying to seek closer ties with the new director.)
  • Nhà trai nhờ người mối ngỏ lời cầu thân. (The groom's family asked a matchmaker to put forth a marriage proposal.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "cầu thân" carries a formal and somewhat traditional nuance. In modern contexts for "proposing marriage," "cầu hôn" is more commonly used. "Cầu thân" in its social sense implies a deliberate effort to build a beneficial personal connection.

Variants and Related Words

• Cầu hôn (v): to propose marriage.
  • Anh ấy cầu hôn cô ấy dưới ánh đèn thành phố. (He proposed to her under the city lights.)
• Kết thân (v): to become friends, to form a friendship.
  • Họ đã kết thân từ thời sinh viên. (They became friends during their university years.)

Synonyms

• To court favor: to seek to gain goodwill.
• To make overtures: to make a direct or indirect approach to establish a relationship.
• To propose (marriage): to ask someone to marry you.

Related Idioms

• Cầu thân cầu phận: This idiom refers to the act of seeking a marriage alliance or proposing, emphasizing the aspect of seeking one's destined match or fate ().

1. To seek the alliance with
   • nhờ người mối ngỏ lời cầu thân
     to ask a matchmaker to put forth an alliance-seeking request