Definition

1. Verb:
   • To advance oneself: To make deliberate efforts to improve one's social, professional, or economic position, often through personal initiative, hard work, or strategic action.
   • To get ahead / to climb the ladder: To seek promotion, success, or a better standing in one's career or in society.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy luôn tìm cách tiến thân trong công ty. (He is always looking for ways to advance himself in the company.)
  • Cô ấy tin rằng học tập chăm chỉ là con đường tốt nhất để tiến thân. (She believes that studying hard is the best way to get ahead.)
  • Muốn tiến thân, anh phải chứng tỏ năng lực. (If you want to get ahead, you must prove your ability.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a neutral or positive connotation of self-improvement and ambition. However, depending on context, it can imply using opportunistic or unscrupulous methods to advance, aligning with the Vietnamese-Vietnamese dictionary note about using schemes or flattery.

Variants and Related Words

• Sự tiến thân (n): The act or process of advancing oneself; career advancement.
  • Sự tiến thân của anh ấy thật đáng ngưỡng mộ. (His career advancement is truly admirable.)

Synonyms

• To advance: To move forward in a purposeful way.
• To get ahead: To achieve success or a higher position.
• To climb the ladder: To make progress in a hierarchy.
• To promote oneself: To actively work toward a better position.

Related Idioms

• Đường tiến thân: The path to advancement.
  • Anh ta đã tìm được đường tiến thân cho mình. (He has found his path to advancement.)
• While not a direct idiom, the concept is central to phrases like "lo tiến thân" (to be concerned with/getting ahead).
  • Hắn chỉ biết lo tiến thân. (He only cares about getting ahead.)