vỗ ơn
Definition
- Verb:
- To be ungrateful / to deny a favor: The primary meaning of "vỗ ơn" is to act ungratefully towards someone who has done you a kindness, or to deny or forget a benefit received.
- To show ingratitude: It describes the act of repaying good with indifference or negativity, failing to acknowledge a past kindness.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Anh ta đã vỗ ơn người đã cứu mạng mình. (He was ungrateful to the person who saved his life.)
- Đừng bao giờ vỗ ơn với những người đã giúp đỡ mình. (Never show ingratitude to those who have helped you.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "vỗ ơn" carries a strong moral judgment and is often used in contexts criticizing someone's character for lacking gratitude. It implies a conscious or blameworthy forgetting of a debt of gratitude.
Variants and Related Words
- Vong ơn (v): to forget a kindness or favor; synonymous with being ungrateful.
- Kẻ vong ơn thường bị xã hội coi thường. (Those who forget kindness are often despised by society.)
Synonyms
- Be ungrateful: To not show thanks for kindness.
- Deny a favor: To refuse to acknowledge a good deed done for one.
- Show ingratitude: To demonstrate a lack of gratitude.
Related Idioms
- Ăn cháo đá bát: (Literally: to eat the porridge and kick the bowl) To bite the hand that feeds you; a vivid idiom for extreme ingratitude, closely related to the concept of "vỗ ơn".
- Hắn quả thật là kẻ ăn cháo đá bát. (He is truly someone who bites the hand that feeds him.)