Definition

1. Verb:
   • To accept one's fate with resignation: "cam phận" describes the act of passively accepting one's life circumstances, social position, or fate, often due to a belief that change is impossible or not within one's power. It implies a quiet, sometimes sorrowful, submission.

Usage

• "Cam phận" is used to express a state of resigned acceptance. It often carries a nuance of sadness, helplessness, or a lack of hope for improvement. It is typically used in contexts discussing social status, poverty, or personal misfortune.
• Common Collocations: "cam phận nghèo" (to resign oneself to poverty), "cam phận làm vợ lẽ" (to accept one's fate as a concubine), "sống cam phận" (to live a resigned life).

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bà ấy đã cam phận sống cả đời trong cảnh nghèo khó. (She resigned herself to living her whole life in poverty.)
  • Anh ta cam phận chấp nhận công việc nhàm chán vì cần tiền nuôi gia đình. (He resigned himself to accepting the boring job because he needed money to support his family.)
  • Không thể cam phận mãi với số phận hẩm hiu, cô ấy quyết tâm thay đổi cuộc đời. (Unable to resign herself to her wretched fate forever, she was determined to change her life.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sống cam phận": to live a life of resignation.
  • Ông cụ sống cam phận sau bao nhiêu năm thất bại. (The old man lived a life of resignation after so many years of failure.)
• "Cam phận chịu đựng": to resign oneself to enduring (something).
  • Cô ấy cam phận chịu đựng những lời chê bai. (She resigned herself to enduring the criticism.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cam chịu (verb): to endure passively, to submit to (often hardship or injustice). This is a close synonym but can emphasize the endurance aspect more strongly than the acceptance of fate.
  • Người dân cam chịu sự áp bức. (The people passively endured the oppression.)
• An phận (verb): to be content with one's lot, to accept one's position. This can have a more neutral or even positive connotation of being satisfied, unlike the often negative or sorrowful tone of "cam phận."
  • Ông ấy an phận với cuộc sống giản dị ở quê. (He is content with his simple life in the countryside.)

Synonyms

• Chấp nhận (verb): to accept. This is a more general and neutral term without the specific connotation of resigned fate.
• Đầu hàng số phận (idiomatic phrase): to surrender to fate. This is a stronger, more dramatic expression than "cam phận."

Related Idioms

• "Cam phận thủ thường": (Literally: to be resigned and keep to the usual). This idiom emphasizes accepting one's ordinary, unchanging lot in life.
  • Sau cú sốc, anh ấy chọn cách cam phận thủ thường. (After the shock, he chose to resign himself to his mundane routine.)

1. To resign oneself to one's fate