Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Competitive to a fault; overly eager to win or surpass others: Describes a person who has an excessive desire to be victorious or superior in all situations, often prioritizing winning over cooperation or sportsmanship.
   • Overly contentious; fond of disputation: Characterizes someone who is argumentative and insists on having the upper hand in debates or disagreements.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy rất hiếu thắng, không bao giờ chịu thua ai. (He is very competitive to a fault, never willing to lose to anyone.)
  • Tính hiếu thắng của cô ấy khiến đồng nghiệp khó chịu. (Her overly contentious nature annoys her colleagues.)
  • Đừng hiếu thắng quá, đôi khi hợp tác quan trọng hơn chiến thắng. (Don't be so overly eager to win; sometimes cooperation is more important than victory.)

Advanced Usage

• This term often carries a negative connotation, implying that the desire to win is excessive, disruptive, or stems from insecurity rather than healthy ambition.
• It can be used to describe a persistent character trait rather than a single instance of competitive behavior.

Variants and Related Words

• Hiếu chiến (adj): Bellicose, warlike, fond of fighting. While "hiếu thắng" focuses on winning, "hiếu chiến" emphasizes a propensity for conflict.
• Thích thắng (verb phrase): To like winning. This is a more neutral phrase without the negative excess implied by "hiếu thắng."

Synonyms

• Overly competitive
• Contentious
• Combative (in argumentative contexts)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Hiếu thắng hiếu thua: A phrase emphasizing the excessive preoccupation with both winning and losing.
  • Anh ta có tật hiếu thắng hiếu thua, nên chơi với anh ấy rất mệt. (He has a bad habit of being overly competitive about both winning and losing, so playing with him is very tiresome.)

1. Envious and fond of surpassing others
   • Tính hiếu thắng dễ gây mất đoàn kết
     Envy and fondness of surpassing others easily give rise to disunity