tử thủ
Definition
- Verb:
- To defend to the death: To fight or hold a position with the utmost determination, refusing to surrender even at the cost of one's life.
- To make a last stand: To resist an attack or maintain a position with fierce resolve until the very end, often against overwhelming odds.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Những người lính quyết tử thủ tại thành trì. (The soldiers were determined to defend the fortress to the death.)
- Đội bóng tử thủ trên sân nhà để bảo vệ tỉ số hòa. (The team made a last stand on their home field to protect the draw.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in military, historical, or sports contexts to describe an extremely resolute and desperate defensive action.
- It implies a conscious choice to accept fatal consequences rather than yield or retreat.
Variants and Related Words
- Thủ (v): to guard, to defend. This is the root verb for "defend" in the compound "tử thủ."
- Tử chiến (v): to fight to the death (emphasizes fighting back, whereas "tử thủ" emphasizes holding a position).
Synonyms
- To hold out to the death: To resist until one dies.
- To stand one's ground: To refuse to retreat (less extreme than "tử thủ").
- To make a desperate defense: To defend with little hope but great determination.
Related Idioms
- While "tử thủ" itself is not typically part of a longer idiom, the concept is central to phrases like:
- "Một mất một còn": A life-and-death struggle.
- Trận đánh này là một mất một còn, họ sẽ tử thủ. (This battle is a life-and-death struggle; they will defend to the death.)