Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pray for help from a higher power: "Kêu cầu" means to earnestly request assistance, mercy, or intervention from deities, spirits, or any superior, transcendent force.
   • To implore, to beseech: It conveys a deep sense of pleading or supplication, often in a desperate or devout context.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người dân kêu cầu thần linh phù hộ cho mùa màng bội thu. (The villagers prayed to the deities for a bountiful harvest.)
  • Trong cơn hoạn nạn, bà ấy chỉ biết kêu cầu trời Phật. (In times of trouble, she could only implore heaven and Buddha.)
  • Họ thành tâm kêu cầu sự giúp đỡ. (They sincerely beseeched for help.)

Advanced Usage

• "kêu cầu khấn vái": to pray and make vows (a more ritualistic and solemn form of supplication).

  • Các tín đồ đến đền chùa kêu cầu khấn vái cho sự bình an. (The devotees went to the temple to pray and make vows for peace.)

• The word often implies a one-way communication from a human to a divine or supreme entity, emphasizing humility and need.

Variants and Related Words

• Cầu khẩn (verb): to beg, to entreat earnestly. Often used interchangeably with "kêu cầu" but can be applied in slightly more secular contexts.

  • Anh ấy cầu khẩn sự tha thứ. (He begged for forgiveness.)

• Khấn vái (verb): to pray, to worship (specifically involving ritual gestures like bowing and often spoken prayers).

  • Mọi người khấn vái trước bàn thờ. (Everyone prayed before the altar.)

Synonyms

• Cầu xin: to beg, to plead for. Very close in meaning, focusing on the act of requesting.
• Van xin: to beseech, to implore. Often carries a stronger connotation of desperation.
• Nài xin: to entreat, to plead persistently.

Related Phrases

• Kêu cầu cứu giúp: to cry out for help/salvation.
  • Người bị nạn kêu cầu cứu giúp. (The victim cried out for help.)

Related Idioms

• Kêu cầu khắp nơi: to implore everywhere (to seek help from every possible source).
  • Gặp chuyện khó, anh ta kêu cầu khắp nơi. (Facing difficulty, he implored everywhere for help.)

1. Pray for help from higher levels
   • Kêu cầu trời phật
     To pray to heaven and to Buddha for help