Definition

1. Verb:
   • To clear (someone) of a false charge; to vindicate: The primary meaning refers to the act of proving someone's innocence regarding a wrongful accusation or misunderstanding.
   • To redress a grievance; to remedy an injustice: Can also imply the action of correcting a past wrong or injustice done to someone.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy đã tìm được bằng chứng để giải oan cho người bạn. (He found evidence to clear his friend's name.)
  • Bộ phim này như một lời giải oan cho số phận của nhân vật lịch sử đó. (This film serves as a vindication for that historical figure's fate.)
  • Cô ấy viết thư giải oan cho chồng mình. (She wrote a letter to clear her husband's name.)

Advanced Usage

• "Lời giải oan": An act or statement of vindication.
  • Lời nói cuối cùng của ông ấy là một lời giải oan đầy xúc động. (His final words were a moving vindication.)
• Used in formal, literary, or serious contexts, often related to legal, historical, or deeply personal grievances.

Variants and Related Words

• Oan (n): A wrongful accusation; an injustice.
  • Chịu oan: To suffer a wrongful accusation.
• Giải (v): To solve, to untie, to resolve. A common prefix in compound verbs indicating the act of resolving something (e.g., - to resolve, - to explain).
• Minh oan (v): A near-synonym meaning to prove innocence, to vindicate. (Note: This is a separate compound word).

Synonyms

• Bào chữa: To defend (often in a legal context).
• Biện hộ: To plead for, to advocate for.
• Phục hồi danh dự: To restore honor/reputation.

Related Phrases

• Giải oan cho linh hồn: To pray for the salvation/deliverance of a soul (from Buddhist/religious context, meaning to perform rites to free a deceased soul from suffering or grievance). This is a specific, traditional usage.
  • Gia đình tổ chức lễ cúng để giải oan cho linh hồn người đã khuất. (The family held a ceremony to pray for the deliverance of the deceased's soul.)

Notes on Different Meanings

• The core, most common meaning is secular: to clear someone's name.
• The secondary, traditional/religious meaning is: to perform rites to free a soul (from grievance/suffering). This usage is derived from the concept of redressing a wrong or injustice even in the spiritual realm.

1. Clear (somebody) of a false charge