Definition

1. Verb:
   • To call for help; to cry for help; to appeal for rescue: The primary meaning of "cầu cứu" is to urgently request assistance or salvation, typically in a dangerous, desperate, or critical situation.
   • To entreat help; to beseech aid: This meaning emphasizes a pleading or begging manner when asking for help.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người bị nạn đang cầu cứu. (The victim is calling for help.)
  • Cô ấy nhìn tôi bằng ánh mắt cầu cứu. (She looked at me with help-entreating eyes.)
  • Chính phủ đã cầu cứu cộng đồng quốc tế. (The government appealed to the international community for help.)

Advanced Usage

• "cầu cứu pháp luật": to seek legal recourse; to appeal to the law for help.
  • Người dân có quyền cầu cứu pháp luật. (Citizens have the right to seek legal recourse.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kêu cứu (v): to cry for help. This is a close synonym, often used in more immediate, vocal situations.

  • Tôi nghe thấy tiếng kêu cứu. (I heard a cry for help.)

• Xin cứu giúp (v): to request help/salvation. A more formal or explicit phrase.

  • Họ đã gửi thư xin cứu giúp. (They sent a letter requesting help.)

Synonyms

• Appeal for help: To make a serious or urgent request for assistance.
• S.O.S.: An international signal calling for help.
• Beseech aid: To ask for help earnestly or desperately.

Related Idioms

• "Cầu cứu như cáo kêu đồng": Literally "to call for help like a fox cries in the field," implying a desperate but perhaps futile or unheeded plea for help.
  • Hắn cầu cứu như cáo kêu đồng, nhưng chẳng ai đến. (He cried for help in vain, but no one came.)

verb

1. To entreat help
   • nhìn bằng con mắt cầu cứu
     to look with help-entreating eyes