Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Respectful; reverent: Showing deep respect, deference, or veneration, often through one's manner, attitude, or actions.
   • Courteously deferential: Behaving with formal politeness and honor towards someone considered superior, elder, or worthy of high esteem.

2. Verb (less common):

   • To show reverence; to treat with great respect: To act in a manner that expresses profound respect or veneration.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Thái độ cung kính của học sinh làm thầy giáo cảm động. (The student's respectful attitude moved the teacher.)
  • Anh ấy cúi đầu cung kính trước bàn thờ tổ tiên. (He bowed reverently before the ancestral altar.)

• Verb:

  • Con cháu phải biết cung kính ông bà. (Descendants must know how to show reverence to their grandparents.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "cung kính" often implies a formal, solemn, and deeply sincere form of respect, more profound than everyday politeness. It is commonly used in contexts involving elders, ancestors, teachers, deities, or sacred objects.
• It can describe both an internal feeling and its external manifestation, such as a bow, a carefully chosen word, or a specific ritual action.

Variants and Related Words

• Kính cẩn (adj): Respectful and careful in manner; deferential.

  • Cô ấy lắng nghe một cách kính cẩn. (She listened deferentially.)

• Tôn kính (v): To revere, to hold in high esteem.

  • Nhân dân tôn kính vị lãnh tụ. (The people revere the leader.)

Synonyms

• Respectful: Feeling or showing deference.
• Reverent: Feeling or showing deep and solemn respect.
• Deferential: Showing humility and submission to the judgment or will of another.

Related Idioms

• Cung kính bất như mệnh lệnh: An idiom suggesting that extreme, formal respect can sometimes create distance, unlike a more straightforward, commanding relationship. It highlights a nuance where excessive reverence may not always be the most effective form of interaction.