làm thân

Hai người bạn mới làm thân với nhau trong công viên.

Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To make friends / To befriend: To actively attempt to establish a friendly or close relationship with someone, often with an initial or deliberate effort.
   • To cozy up to / To ingratiate oneself with: To try to gain someone's favor or friendship, sometimes with a hint of seeking personal benefit or advantage.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Cậu bé mới chuyển trường đang cố làm thân với các bạn cùng lớp. (The new boy at school is trying to make friends with his classmates.)
  • Anh ta làm thân với sếp chỉ để được thăng chức. (He is cozying up to the boss just to get a promotion.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies the beginning stages of building a relationship and can carry a neutral or slightly calculated connotation depending on context.
• It can be used in both personal and strategic contexts (e.g., social, professional, diplomatic).

Variants and Related Words

• Kết thân (v): To become close friends, to form a bond. This implies a more mutual and established friendship than the initial effort of "làm thân."
  • Họ đã kết thân từ thời đại học. (They have been close friends since university.)

Synonyms

• Befriend: To act as a friend to someone.
• Ingratiate: To bring oneself into favor with someone by deliberate effort.
• Court favor: To seek to gain approval or friendship.

Related Idioms

• Làm thân làm quen: To make acquaintances and build relationships. This idiom emphasizes the social process of getting to know people.
  • Đi du lịch một mình là cơ hội để làm thân làm quen với nhiều người mới. (Traveling alone is an opportunity to make friends and get to know new people.)