Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Kind to animals, reluctant to kill animals: "Hiếu sinh" describes the quality of being compassionate towards living creatures and having an aversion to killing them.
   • Cherishing life, valuing life: "Hiếu sinh" can also refer to the broader principle of treasuring life and avoiding causing death or suffering.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông ấy rất hiếu sinh, không bao giờ đánh đập thú nuôi. (He is very kind to animals; he never beats his pets.)
  • Theo đạo Phật, tín đồ nên có lòng hiếu sinh. (According to Buddhism, followers should have compassion for living beings.)
  • Vị lãnh đạo đó được ca ngợi vì sự hiếu sinh, luôn tìm giải pháp hòa bình. (That leader is praised for cherishing life, always seeking peaceful solutions.)

Advanced Usage

• "Lòng hiếu sinh": compassion for living beings, the heart of cherishing life.
  • Lòng hiếu sinh ngăn cô ấy không giết con nhện. (Compassion for living beings stopped her from killing the spider.)
• "Tính hiếu sinh": the characteristic of being life-cherishing.
  • Tính hiếu sinh là một đức tính tốt cần phát huy. (The characteristic of cherishing life is a good virtue that should be promoted.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hiếu (in compounds): filial piety, devotion (e.g., hiếu thảo - filial). In "hiếu sinh," it carries the meaning of "loving" or "cherishing."
• Sinh (in compounds): life, living, birth (e.g., sinh mạng - life, sinh vật - living organism).
• Nhân đạo (adj): humanitarian, compassionate (often broader, focusing on human welfare).
• Từ bi (adj): merciful, compassionate (often used in a religious context like Buddhism).

Synonyms

• Thương người mến vật: to love people and be fond of animals (an idiom expressing a similar sentiment).
• Yêu sinh mạng: to love life/living beings.
• Bất sát sinh: not killing living beings (specifically the precept of non-killing).

Related Phrases

• Hiếu sinh háo đức: (Classical/Literary) Cherishing life and loving virtue.
  • Bậc quân tử hiếu sinh háo đức. (A noble person cherishes life and loves virtue.)

Related Idioms

• Lấy nhân nghĩa thắng hung tàn, lấy chí nhân thay cường bạo: (Proverb) Use humanity and righteousness to overcome cruelty, use extreme benevolence to replace violence. This reflects the principle of "hiếu sinh" in a moral or leadership context.
  • Chính sách của vua thể hiện tư tưởng "lấy chí nhân thay cường bạo", rất hiếu sinh. (The king's policy embodied the idea of "using extreme benevolence to replace violence," showing great compassion for life.)

1. Kind to animals, reluctant to kill animals