Definition

1. Verb:
   • To fawn upon (someone): The act of ingratiating oneself with a superior by slandering or disparaging others. It implies using flattery and malicious gossip to gain favor.
   • To flatter obsequiously while slandering others: A specific type of flattery that involves defaming rivals or colleagues to make oneself appear more favorable to a person in authority.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn ta chỉ giỏi sàm nịnh cấp trên để được thăng chức. (He is only good at fawning upon his superiors to get promoted.)
  • Trong triều đình phong kiến, nhiều gian thần thường dùng thủ đoạn sàm nịnh. (In feudal courts, many treacherous courtiers often used the tactic of obsequious flattery and slander.)
  • Đừng bao giờ tin tưởng kẻ chuyên đi sàm nịnh người khác. (Never trust someone who specializes in flattering by slandering others.)

Advanced Usage

• "sàm nịnh bợ đỡ": This is a common collocation that intensifies the meaning, combining "sàm nịnh" (flattery/slander) with "bợ đỡ" (toadying/sycophancy). It describes extreme and shameless fawning behavior.
  • Hắn leo lên được vị trí đó chỉ nhờ vào tài sàm nịnh bợ đỡ. (He climbed to that position solely thanks to his talent for shameless toadying and slander.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nịnh hót (verb): To flatter, to adulate. This is a more general term for flattery without the explicit connotation of slandering others.
• Bợ đỡ (verb): To toady, to be sycophantic. It emphasizes servile behavior to gain favor.
• Xu nịnh (verb): A literary synonym meaning to flatter obsequiously.
• Sàm tấu (verb): To present a false or slanderous report to a monarch or superior. This is a more formal, historical term related to giving malicious counsel.

Synonyms

• Flatter obsequiously: To praise excessively and servilely.
• Toady: To act in an obsequious way to gain advantage.
• Sycophancy (noun form): The behavior of acting obsequiously toward someone important to gain advantage.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a Vietnamese verb, "sàm nịnh" does not have phrasal verb constructions in the English sense. Its meaning is contained within the single term.

Related Idioms

• Nịnh thần (n) / Gian thần (n): These are nouns referring to a "sycophantic courtier" or a "treacherous minister," often the kind of person who would engage in "sàm nịnh."
  • Lịch sử ghi lại nhiều bài học về các nịnh thần làm suy yếu triều đình. (History records many lessons about sycophantic courtiers who weakened dynasties.)
• Treo đầu dê, bán thịt chó: (To hang a goat's head but sell dog meat). This idiom describes deception and fraud, which can be related to the deceitful nature of "sàm nịnh."

verb

1. to fawn upon (someone)