cung phụng
Definition
- Verb:
- To provide for / to supply the needs of: The primary meaning of "cung phụng" is to attend to and fulfill all the material or service requirements of someone, typically a superior, elder, or revered figure, ensuring their comfort and lack of want.
- To serve dutifully / to wait upon: It implies a continuous, devoted, and often respectful act of service, going beyond simple provision to include attentive care.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Con cái có bổn phận cung phụng cha mẹ già. (Children have the duty to provide for their elderly parents.)
- Cung phụng đầy đủ mọi thứ cho một vị sư. (To dutifully supply a monk with everything he needs.)
- Họ sống để cung phụng nhà vua. (They lived to serve the king.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a formal or classical nuance and is strongly associated with filial piety, religious devotion, or feudal service. It is less common in casual, modern contexts.
- It can be used in a slightly negative or critical sense to describe excessive, fawning service.
- Anh ta chỉ biết cung phụng sếp, chẳng quan tâm đến đồng nghiệp. (He only knows how to fawn over the boss, paying no attention to colleagues.)
Variants and Related Words
- Cung cấp (v): to supply, to provide (goods, materials, information). This is a more general and neutral term without the connotation of servitude.
- Công ty cung cấp nguyên liệu. (The company supplies raw materials.)
- Phụng dưỡng (v): to support and care for (parents, elders). Very close in meaning, emphasizing care in old age.
- Phụng dưỡng cha mẹ là đạo lý. (Caring for parents is a moral principle.)
- Hầu hạ (v): to wait upon, to attend to (a master). Emphasizes the act of personal service more strongly.
Synonyms
- Provide for: to supply what is necessary for sustenance.
- Attend to: to take care of the needs of someone.
- Serve: to perform duties or services for another person.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Cung phụng tận tụy: to serve devotedly and diligently.
- Người giúp việc cung phụng tận tụy cho gia đình ấy. (The servant served that family devotedly.)
- While not a standalone idiom, "cung phụng" is a key concept in phrases related to hiếu thảo (filial piety).