Definition

1. Verb:
   • To salvage, to save, to rescue (a situation): "cứu vãn" refers to the act of making an effort to save or improve a situation that is bad, declining, or on the verge of failure, preventing it from becoming worse or reaching a complete collapse.

Usage

• The verb "cứu vãn" is used to describe actions taken to remedy a difficult, dangerous, or failing situation. It implies that the situation is already problematic and requires intervention to prevent total loss or disaster.
• It is often used with objects like "tình thế" (situation), "tình hình" (situation/state), "danh dự" (honor), or "mối quan hệ" (relationship).

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Mọi nỗ lực để cứu vãn tình hình đều thất bại. (Every effort to salvage the situation has failed.)
  • Anh ấy đang cố gắng cứu vãn mối quan hệ đổ vỡ. (He is trying to save the broken relationship.)
  • Không có biện pháp nào có thể cứu vãn được công ty khỏi phá sản. (No measure can save the company from bankruptcy.)

Advanced Usage

• "cứu vãn thể diện" / "cứu vãn danh dự": to save face / to salvage one's honor.
  • Hành động đó chỉ nhằm mục đích cứu vãn thể diện. (That action is only for the purpose of saving face.)
• "cố gắng cứu vãn": to try hard to salvage.
  • Chúng tôi sẽ cố gắng cứu vãn bằng mọi giá. (We will try to salvage it at all costs.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cứu (verb): to save, to rescue (can be used for people, objects, or situations; broader than "cứu vãn").
  • cứu người (to save a person), cứu hỏa (firefighting).
• Giải cứu (verb): to rescue, to deliver from (often used for people from danger or captivity).
  • giải cứu con tin (to rescue hostages).

Synonyms

• Khắc phục: to overcome, to remedy (focuses on fixing a problem or difficulty).
• Cải thiện: to improve (focuses on making something better, not necessarily from a critical state).
• Chữa cháy (idiomatic): literally "to fight a fire"; used figuratively to mean dealing with an urgent, emerging crisis.

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Cứu vãn tình thế: to salvage the situation/circumstances.
• Cứu vãn hôn nhân: to save a marriage.
• Cứu vãn thất bại: to salvage a failure.

Related Idioms

• "Muộn còn hơn không": Better late than never. (This idiom can relate to the idea of a last-ditch effort to "cứu vãn" a situation.)
  • Dù đã muộn, chúng ta vẫn nên cố gắng cứu vãn. Muộn còn hơn không. (Even though it's late, we should still try to salvage it. Better late than never.)