Definition

1. Verb:
   • To teach and nurture: The primary meaning of "dạy dỗ" is to educate, instruct, and morally guide someone, typically a child or young person, with care and affection. It implies a holistic process of upbringing that combines teaching with correction and character formation.
   • To admonish with care: It can also mean to correct or reprimand someone's behavior in a thoughtful, guiding manner, not merely punishing but aiming to improve them.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cha mẹ có trách nhiệm dạy dỗ con cái. (Parents have the responsibility to teach and nurture their children.)
  • Cô giáo ấy dạy dỗ học sinh rất tận tâm. (That teacher educates her students very devotedly.)
  • Ông ấy nghiêm khắc nhưng dạy dỗ chúng tôi bằng tất cả tình thương. (He is strict but admonishes us with all his affection.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in contexts emphasizing moral, ethical, or behavioral education within a close, caring relationship (e.g., parent-child, teacher-student). It is less about formal academic instruction and more about holistic upbringing.

Variants and Related Words

• Dạy (v): to teach, to instruct. This is the core root and is more general, often used for academic teaching.
  • Cô giáo dạy Toán. (The teacher teaches Math.)
• Dạy bảo (v): to advise, to counsel. Similar to "dạy dỗ" but may place slightly more emphasis on verbal instruction and advice.
  • Anh ấy luôn dạy bảo em trai những điều hay lẽ phải. (He always advises his younger brother on what is right and proper.)

Synonyms

• Educate: to provide intellectual, moral, and social instruction.
• Nurture: to care for and encourage the growth or development of.
• Instruct: to direct or command someone to do something, especially as an authority.
• Raise (as in raising a child): to bring up and care for until maturity.

Related Idioms

• Dạy dỗ nên người: to educate someone to become a good person.
  • Nhờ được cha mẹ dạy dỗ nên người, anh ấy rất thành công. (Thanks to being raised well by his parents to become a good person, he is very successful.)

1. Teach affectionnately, admonish affectionately (young people)