nhập cốt
Definition
- Verb (figurative):
- To become ingrained to the bone / to become second nature: Describes a habit, trait, or influence that has penetrated so deeply into a person's character or being that it is fundamental and almost impossible to change. It implies a profound, internalized absorption.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Những bài học từ thuở nhỏ đã nhập cốt vào anh ấy. (The lessons from his childhood have become ingrained in him.)
- Thói quen đó đã nhập cốt, khó mà bỏ được. (That habit has become second nature and is hard to break.)
- Lòng yêu nước đã nhập cốt của dân tộc. (Patriotism is ingrained in the nation's character.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used in a figurative sense to describe non-physical things like habits, culture, ideas, or moral qualities becoming an inseparable part of a person or group's identity.
Variants and Related Words
- Thấm cốt (v): to permeate to the bone; a very close synonym with the same figurative meaning.
- Ngấm vào máu (idiomatic expression): literally "to seep into the blood"; means to become a deep-seated part of one's nature.
Synonyms
- Ingrained: firmly fixed or established.
- Internalized: made part of one's character or mindset.
- Innate: inborn; natural.
- Deep-seated: firmly established at a deep level.
Related Idioms
- Nhập tâm: to learn by heart; to memorize thoroughly. (Note: "nhập tâm" focuses on memorization, while "nhập cốt" implies a deeper, character-level absorption.)
- Vào đến xương tủy: literally "to enter to the bone marrow"; a descriptive phrase synonymous with "nhập cốt."