khấn vái

Một người phụ nữ đang khấn vái trước bàn thờ tổ tiên.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pray and bow: The act of praying to a deity, spirit, or ancestor while simultaneously performing a respectful bow or prostration. It combines verbal invocation with physical gestures of reverence.
   • To worship with gestures: To perform a ritual of worship that involves bowing and reciting prayers, often done at altars, temples, or ancestral shrines.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người dân thành kính khấn vái trước bàn thờ tổ tiên. (The people respectfully prayed and bowed before the ancestral altar.)
  • Mỗi dịp Tết đến, gia đình tôi đều khấn vái ông bà để cầu bình an. (Every Tet holiday, my family prays and bows to our grandparents to pray for peace.)

Advanced Usage

• "Khấn vái thành tâm": To pray and bow with sincere devotion.

  • Chỉ cần khấn vái thành tâm, ắt sẽ được linh ứng. (As long as you pray and bow with sincere devotion, your prayers will surely be answered.)

• "Khấn vái lầm rầm": To pray and bow while murmuring prayers softly.

  • Cụ già khấn vái lầm rầm trước tượng Phật. (The old woman prayed and bowed while murmuring softly before the Buddha statue.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khấn (verb): To pray, to invoke (often used alone to mean praying silently or verbally without emphasizing the physical bow).

  • Bà khấn xin thần linh phù hộ. (She prayed to the spirits for protection.)

• Vái (verb): To bow with hands clasped, to make a respectful bow (often used alone to mean the physical gesture).

  • Ông ấy vái ba vái chào khách. (He bowed three times to greet the guests.)

Synonyms

• Cầu khấn (verb): To pray, to beseech (emphasizes the verbal plea, may or may not include bowing).
• Lạy (verb): To prostrate, to kowtow (emphasizes a deep, full-body bow, often part of "khấn vái").

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Khấn vái khấn nguyện: To pray, bow, and make vows (an extended ritual act).
  • Người dân khấn vái khấn nguyện trước đền thờ. (The people prayed, bowed, and made vows at the temple.)

Related Idioms

• "Khấn Trời khấn Phật": To pray to Heaven and Buddha (an idiom meaning to pray desperately to every possible higher power).

  • Gặp hoạn nạn, anh ấy chỉ biết khấn Trời khấn Phật. (In trouble, he could only pray to Heaven and Buddha.)

• "Vái tứ phương": To bow to the four directions (an idiom describing respectful greetings or a ritual to show reverence to all sides).

  • Trước khi biểu diễn, nghệ sĩ thường vái tứ phương. (Before performing, artists often bow to the four directions.)