Definition

1. Verb:
   • To beg or beseech someone repeatedly and humbly, often while kneeling or bowing excessively. This action implies a desperate, submissive, and persistent plea for help, forgiveness, or a favor.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta lạy lục xin chủ nợ gia hạn. (He begged and pleaded with the creditor for an extension.)
  • Cô ấy lạy lục van xin tòa án tha tội cho con trai. (She prostrated herself, beseeching the court to pardon her son.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "lạy lục" strongly connotes a loss of dignity or extreme self-abasement in the act of pleading. It is not used for simple, polite requests.

Variants and Related Words

• Lạy (v): to bow deeply or prostrate oneself, often in worship or deep respect.

  • Các Phật tử lạy trước tượng Phật. (The Buddhists bow before the Buddha statue.)

• Van lạy (v): to beg while bowing or prostrating; a synonym emphasizing the physical act of bowing.

  • Nó van lạy mẹ cho đi chơi. (He begged his mother, bowing, to let him go out.)

Synonyms

• Beseech: to ask urgently and fervently.
• Implore: to beg desperately.
• Supplicate: to make a humble, earnest plea.

Related Idioms

• Lạy ông tôi ở bụi này: A humorous or sarcastic exclamation of surprise or frustration (literally, "I bow to you, my ancestor in this bush").
  • Lạy ông tôi ở bụi này, sao mà rắc rối thế! (Good heavens, why is this so complicated!)