Definition

Verb: 1. To make allowances for, to be lenient/tolerant (towards someone or something): To consider and accept mitigating circumstances, showing flexibility or forgiveness instead of strict adherence to rules or standards. 2. To adjust, to balance (requirements, conditions): To modify or relax certain criteria, conditions, or demands to make them more suitable or achievable in a specific situation.

Usage Examples

• Châm chước cho ai đó: To be lenient towards someone.
  • Vì hoàn cảnh khó khăn, hội đồng đã châm chước cho anh ấy về điều kiện nộp hồ sơ. (Due to difficult circumstances, the committee made allowances for him regarding the application submission condition.)
• Châm chước điều gì: To relax/be lenient about something.
  • Chúng tôi có thể châm chước một vài tiêu chuẩn phụ trong hợp đồng này. (We can relax a few secondary criteria in this contract.)
• Được/Bị châm chước: To be given leniency.
  • Lần đầu vi phạm nên cô ấy được châm chước. (It was her first offense, so she was shown leniency.)

Advanced Usage

• Châm chước lẫn nhau: To make mutual concessions; to give and take.
  • Để hợp tác thành công, đôi bên cần phải biết châm chước lẫn nhau. (For successful cooperation, both sides need to know how to make mutual concessions.)
• Used in formal or semi-formal contexts, often related to rules, regulations, assessments, judgments, or interpersonal forgiveness within a structured framework (e.g., work, school, law, contracts).

Variants and Related Words

• Sự châm chước (Noun): Leniency, allowance, concession.
  • Sự châm chước của giáo viên đã giúp học sinh có cơ hội sửa chữa. (The teacher's leniency helped the student have a chance to correct themselves.)
• Có tính châm chước (Adjectival phrase): Lenient, flexible.
  • Một chính sách có tính châm chước. (A lenient policy.)

Synonyms

• Tha thứ: To forgive (focuses more on pardoning a fault/sin).
• Khoan hồng: To be merciful, to be clement (often in a legal or authoritative context).
• Chiếu cố: To give special consideration/favor (implies looking after someone).
• Điều chỉnh: To adjust, to modify (more neutral, less about leniency).

Notes on Different Meanings

The core meaning revolves around flexibility and consideration. The specific nuance depends on the object: 1. With a person as the object (e.g., châm chước cho anh ấy), it leans toward leniency, forgiveness. 2. With a rule, condition, or standard as the object (e.g., châm chước tiêu chuẩn), it leans toward adjustment, relaxation, making allowances.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Chín bỏ làm mười: (Lit: Nine drop, make ten) An idiom meaning to overlook minor faults, to be magnanimous. This conveys a similar spirit of leniency as .
  • Cô ấy thường chín bỏ làm mười với lỗi nhỏ của nhân viên. (She often overlooks her staff's minor mistakes.)

verb

1. To adjust, to balance, to allow for
   • châm chước đề nghị của hai bên để làm hợp đồng
     to allow for both sides' proposals and draw up a contract
2. To lessen the requirement of
   • có thể châm chước vài tiêu chuẩn không quan trọng
     it is possible to lessen the requirement of some unimportant criteria
   • châm chước về điều kiện tuổi
     to lessen the requirement concerning age
3. To forgive
   • cứ thành khẩn nhận lỗi, người ta sẽ châm chước cho
     if you sincerely admit your mistakes, you will be forgiven