Definition

1. Verb:
   • To degenerate, to become morally corrupt: To decline from a higher to a lower state, especially in terms of moral standards, character, or quality.
   • To commit adultery (archaic/less common usage): To engage in an extramarital affair.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Một số thanh niên đã bị bạn bè xấu lôi kéo và dần hủ hoá. (Some young people were led astray by bad friends and gradually degenerated.)
  • Những tệ nạn xã hội có thể khiến con người hủ hoá. (Social vices can cause people to become corrupt.)
  • Trong văn học cổ, nhân vật đó bị miêu tả là đã hủ hoá. (In classical literature, that character was described as having committed adultery.)

Advanced Usage

• "sự hủ hoá" (noun): The state or process of degeneration, moral decay, or corruption.
  • Sự hủ hoá của một bộ phận thanh niên là vấn đề đáng lo ngại. (The degeneration of a segment of youth is a concerning issue.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hư hỏng (adj/verb): Spoiled, rotten; to be corrupted. (Often used for objects or moral character, more common in modern usage).
  • Đứa trẻ hư hỏng. (A spoiled child.)
• Thoái hoá (verb): To degenerate, to deteriorate. (Often used in biological, medical, or moral contexts).
  • Thoái hoá đạo đức. (Moral degeneration.)
• Sa đoạ (verb): To become depraved, to lead a debauched life.
  • Một lối sống sa đoạ. (A depraved lifestyle.)

Synonyms

• Suy đồi: To degenerate, to decay (morally or culturally).
• Bại hoại: To be corrupt, to be ruined (morally).
• Làm băng hoại: To corrupt, to cause moral decay.

Notes on Usage

• Tone and Register: The word "hủ hoá" is considered literary and is not commonly used in everyday modern spoken Vietnamese. It carries a formal and serious tone, often found in written texts, historical contexts, or discussions about moral decline.
• Primary Meaning: In contemporary understanding, the primary meaning is "to degenerate" or "to become corrupt." The meaning "to commit adultery" is now very rare and mostly confined to classical literature.
• Context: It is typically used to describe a profound moral or ethical decline in a person or a group, rather than minor misbehavior.

1. (ít dùng) Degenerate
2. Commit adultery