Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To mitigate one's shame, to try to cover up one's embarrassment: The act of saying or doing something to lessen the feeling of shame or embarrassment after a mistake, failure, or awkward situation. It is an attempt to save face.

Usage

• This phrase describes a reactive behavior. A person performs an action "chữa thẹn" after feeling ashamed or embarrassed.
• It is often used with verbs indicating speech or facial expressions, such as (to say), (to smile/laugh), or (to do).

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Sau khi trả lời sai, anh ấy cười để chữa thẹn. (After answering incorrectly, he smiled to mitigate his shame.)
  • Cô ấy nói vài câu chữa thẹn khi nhận ra mình đã hiểu lầm. (She said a few sentences to cover her embarrassment when she realized her misunderstanding.)
  • Để chữa thẹn vì thất bại, anh ta đổ lỗi cho hoàn cảnh. (To mitigate his shame from the failure, he blamed the circumstances.)

Advanced Usage

• "cười chữa thẹn": A common collocation meaning "to give an embarrassed smile" or "to laugh it off" in an attempt to hide one's shame or awkwardness.
  • Nghe thấy điều đó, cô ấy chỉ biết cười chữa thẹn. (Hearing that, she could only give an embarrassed smile.)
• The phrase often implies that the attempt is somewhat transparent or not entirely successful in hiding the true feeling of shame.

Variants and Related Words

• Chữa (verb): To cure, to fix, to remedy. In this phrase, it takes on the meaning of "to remedy" a state of shame.
• Thẹn (adj/verb): To be/feel ashamed, shy, or embarrassed.
• Xấu hổ (adj/verb): To be/feel ashamed or embarrassed. ( is a more general term for shame, while specifically refers to the act of trying to alleviate it.)

Synonyms

• Che giấu sự xấu hổ: To conceal one's shame.
• Lấy cớ để giữ thể diện: To make an excuse to save face.
• Bào chữa cho sự ngượng ngùng: To make an excuse for one's embarrassment.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• "Chữa thẹn bằng nụ cười": Literally "to remedy shame with a smile," emphasizing the use of a smile as the tool for covering embarrassment.
• The concept is closely related to "giữ thể diện" (to save face), but is a specific action taken a face-threatening incident to restore one's dignity.

1. To mitigate one's shame
   • cười chữa thẹn
     to smile and mitigate one's shame, to try to mitigate one's shame with a smile
   • nói vài câu chữa thẹn
     to try to mitigate one's shame with a few sentences; to say a few sentences in extenuation of one's conduct (words)