Definition

1. Verb:
   • To condescend: To act in a way that shows a feeling of superiority, often by doing something one considers beneath one's dignity or status.
   • To demean oneself / To lower oneself: To voluntarily put oneself in a lower, often humiliating, position or to act in a way that compromises one's pride, usually to ask for something or to achieve a goal.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy không bao giờ hạ mình nịnh bợ sếp. (He never demeans himself by flattering his boss.)
  • Cô ấy phải hạ mình đi vay tiền. (She had to lower herself to borrow money.)
  • Ông ấy hạ mình xin lỗi đứa trẻ. (He condescended to apologize to the child.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a significant, conscious sacrifice of pride or social standing. It is frequently used in contexts involving pleading, begging, or submitting to someone one considers inferior.
• It can carry a negative connotation of weakness or loss of face, but can also be viewed positively as an act of humility in certain contexts.

Variants and Related Words

• Hạ mình cầu cạnh (verb phrase): To lower oneself to beg or plead for help.

  • Bà ta hạ mình cầu cạnh hàng xóm. (She lowered herself to beg her neighbors.)

• Hạ mình nài nỉ (verb phrase): To demean oneself by persistently pleading.

  • Nó hạ mình nài nỉ tôi cho nó thêm một cơ hội. (He demeaned himself by pleading with me for another chance.)

Synonyms

• Condescend: To do something that one regards as below one's social rank or dignity.
• Debase oneself: To lower in character, quality, or value.
• Stoop: To lower one's moral standards by doing something reprehensible.
• Humiliate oneself: To cause oneself to feel ashamed or foolish.

Related Idioms

• Hạ mình xuống nước: To lower oneself greatly (literally, "to lower oneself to the water level"). Emphasizes the depth of the humiliation or submission.
  • Để cứu công ty, ông chủ đã hạ mình xuống nước. (To save the company, the owner lowered himself to the greatest depth.)

verb

1. to condescend; to demean oneself