Definition

1. Noun:
   • Prayer for a specific request: A superstitious practice of praying to deities or spirits to ask for a specific favor, outcome, or intervention.
   • Religious/superstitious petition: An act of making a vow or plea within a folk religious or superstitious context, often involving rituals.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người dân trong làng tổ chức một buổi kỳ đảo để cầu mưa. (The villagers held a prayer ceremony to ask for rain.)
  • Theo mê tín, kỳ đảo có thể giúp giải trừ vận xui. (Superstitiously, a prayer ritual is believed to help ward off bad luck.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in the context of Vietnamese folk belief and traditional religion. It implies a formal or ritualized act of supplication, distinct from everyday personal prayer.

Variants and Related Words

• Cầu khấn (v): to pray, to beseech (a more general term for praying or pleading).
• Cầu nguyện (v): to pray (a neutral or religious term, common in both folk and organized religion).
• Cầu xin (v): to beg, to plead for (emphasizes the act of requesting).

Synonyms

• Supplication: The action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.
• Entreaty: An earnest or humble request.
• Petitionary prayer: A prayer that makes a specific request.

Related Idioms

• Kỳ đảo phù trợ: To pray for divine support or aid.
  • Trước kỳ thi, một số sĩ tử đi kỳ đảo phù trợ. (Before the exam, some candidates go to pray for divine support.)