Definition

Verb (literary, formal): - To deploy troops; to command an army in warfare: This term specifically refers to the act of leading, commanding, or strategically employing military forces in a war or battle. It implies the exercise of command and the application of military strategy.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Vị tướng tài ba đó rất giỏi dụng binh. (That talented general is very skilled at commanding troops.)
  • Phép dụng binh của Hưng Đạo Vương được nghiên cứu rộng rãi. (The military strategy of Prince Hưng Đạo is widely studied.)
  • Muốn thắng trận, trước hết phải biết cách dụng binh. (To win a battle, one must first know how to deploy troops effectively.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is primarily used in formal, historical, or literary contexts. It often appears in discussions about military history, classical strategy, or the art of war.
• It can be used metaphorically in modern contexts to describe skillful management or strategic deployment of resources in a competitive situation, though this is an extended, figurative use.
  • Ông ấy dụng binh trong thương trường rất khéo léo. (He deploys his "troops" [resources/team] very skillfully in the business arena.)

Variants and Related Words

• Binh pháp (n): Military strategy, the art of war.
  • Tôn Tử binh pháp (The Art of War by Sun Tzu)
• Chỉ huy (v): To command, to lead (a more general and modern term for leading people or troops).
• Điều binh (v): To maneuver/deploy troops (focuses more on the movement and arrangement of forces).

Synonyms

• Điều quân: To maneuver troops.
• Cầm quân: To lead an army (similar in meaning, slightly less formal than ).

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Dụng binh như thần: To command troops like a deity; to have supernatural skill in military command.
  • Vị tướng ấy được ca tụng là dụng binh như thần. (That general is praised for commanding troops with god-like skill.)
• Biết người biết ta, trăm trận không nguy: (An idiom related to the art of war, meaning "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.") This encapsulates a core principle of .

1. (cũ) Conduct an army, conduct a war
   • Phép dụng binh của cha ông ta
     The art of conducting a war of our ancestors