tự biện bạch
Definition
- Verb:
- To self-justify: To explain or defend one's own actions, decisions, or viewpoints, often in response to real or perceived criticism. It implies a personal effort to clear oneself of blame or to make one's reasoning understood.
- To offer a self-defense: To present arguments or explanations intended to vindicate oneself without being prompted by a specific accuser in a formal setting.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Anh ấy luôn tự biện bạch cho những sai lầm của mình. (He always self-justifies his own mistakes.)
- Cô ấy không cần phải tự biện bạch; mọi người đều hiểu cho cô. (She doesn't need to offer a self-defense; everyone understands her situation.)
- Trong báo cáo, ông ấy đã dành nhiều phần để tự biện bạch. (In the report, he spent many sections self-justifying.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a nuanced tone, suggesting the justification might be excessive, unnecessary, or defensive, rather than a neutral explanation.
- It is frequently used in contexts of personal accountability, psychology, or informal disputes, rather than in formal legal defense (which would use "biện hộ" or "tự bào chữa").
Variants and Related Words
- Biện bạch (v): To explain or argue in defense of something or someone. This can be for oneself or another.
- Anh ấy biện bạch cho đồng nghiệp. (He defended his colleague.)
- Tự bào chữa (v): To defend oneself, often in a legal or more formal adversarial context.
- Tự biện minh (v): A close synonym meaning to vindicate or justify oneself.
Synonyms
- To justify oneself: To provide reasons for one's conduct.
- To make excuses for oneself: To offer explanations, often perceived as weak or defensive.
- To defend oneself: To argue in support of oneself against criticism.
Related Idioms
- While "tự biện bạch" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the act is commonly described in phrases about defensiveness.
- Lời nói đó nghe như một sự tự biện bạch. (That statement sounds like a self-justification.)