Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Thick-skinned (from being beaten), hardened to blows: Describes a person who has become accustomed to physical punishment (like beatings or whippings) and is no longer afraid of it or affected by it.
   • Figuratively, hardened to criticism or scolding: Describes a person who has become indifferent or numb to verbal reprimands, scolding, or harsh words due to frequent exposure.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ đó đã trở nên dạn đòn vì bị cha mẹ đánh thường xuyên. (That child has become hardened to blows because of being beaten by his parents frequently.)
  • Anh ta chẳng sợ lời mắng nhiếc của sếp nữa, đã dạn đòn rồi. (He is no longer afraid of the boss's scolding; he's become thick-skinned to it.)

Advanced Usage

• "dạn đòn dạn miệng": A common paired phrase meaning "hardened to both blows and harsh words," describing someone completely inured to both physical and verbal abuse.
  • Sống trong môi trường đó lâu, nó đã thành đứa trẻ dạn đòn dạn miệng. (Having lived in that environment for long, he has become a child hardened to both blows and harsh words.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dạn (adj): Often used as a prefix meaning "accustomed to," "hardened to," or "fearless of" something due to frequent exposure (e.g., = accustomed to the wind; = brazen-faced).
• Dạn roi (adj): A near-identical variant meaning "hardened to the whip," synonymous with .

Synonyms

• Lì đòn (adj): Stubbornly resistant to blows; unyielding despite punishment.
• Chai sạn (adj, figurative): Calloused; hardened (often used figuratively for emotions or conscience).
• Trơ lì (adj): Brazen; shamelessly indifferent.

Related Idioms

• "Mưa dầm thấm lâu": Literally "Prolonged rain soaks deep." This idiom describes a slow, persistent process having a deep effect. It can relate to in the sense that repeated actions (like beatings or scolding) eventually lead to a hardened state.
  • Mắng nó mãi cũng vô ích, nó đã dạn đòn rồi, đúng là mưa dầm thấm lâu. (Scolding him is useless now; he's become thick-skinned to it. It's true that prolonged rain soaks deep.)