Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To have a high regard for someone's words or recommendations, leading to compliance or respect. It implies acting upon or yielding to someone's request or advice out of respect for that person, not merely obligation.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Tôi nể lời thầy giáo nên đã sửa lại bài tập. (I respected my teacher's words so I revised the homework.)
  • Chị ấy chỉ làm việc đó vì nể lời bố mẹ thôi. (She only did that out of regard for her parents' words.)
  • Anh ấy nể lời bạn thân, cuối cùng cũng đồng ý đi khám bệnh. (He had regard for his close friend's words and finally agreed to go for a medical check-up.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often carries a nuance of doing something one might not otherwise do, purely due to personal respect for the speaker. It is stronger than simply "listening" (); it involves deference.

Variants and Related Words

• Nể (v): to respect, to hold in high esteem.
  • Mọi người đều nể ông ấy vì sự chính trực. (Everyone respects him for his integrity.)
• Nghe lời (v): to obey, to listen to someone's words (can imply a more general or obligatory compliance).
  • Đứa trẻ ngoan ngoãn nghe lời cha mẹ. (The well-behaved child obeys his parents.)

Synonyms

• To defer to: to yield respectfully to someone's opinion or wishes.
• To have regard for: to consider with respect.
• To comply out of respect: to agree or act in accordance due to esteem.

Related Idioms

• Nể mặt: to show consideration for someone's face/standing; to do something out of respect for someone's status or to avoid causing them embarrassment.
  • Tôi đồng ý dự tiệc cũng chỉ là nể mặt anh ta. (I agreed to attend the party merely out of regard for his standing.)

1. Have a [high] regard for (somebody's words, recomendations)