âm đức
Definition
- Noun:
- Hidden virtue / secret virtue: Good deeds or moral merit accumulated quietly and without seeking recognition, often believed to bring blessings to the doer or their descendants.
- Ancestral merit / stored virtue: The reservoir of good karma or virtuous acts performed by ancestors, which is thought to positively influence the fortune and well-being of their descendants.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Ông ấy sống lặng lẽ làm nhiều việc thiện, tích nhiều âm đức. (He lives quietly doing many good deeds, accumulating much hidden virtue.)
- Gia đình họ hưởng phúc từ âm đức của tổ tiên. (His family enjoys blessings from the ancestral merit.)
- Làm việc tốt mà không khoe khoang chính là tích âm đức. (Doing good deeds without boasting is precisely accumulating hidden virtue.)
Advanced Usage
- The concept is deeply rooted in traditional East Asian spiritual and philosophical beliefs, particularly concerning karma, fate, and familial legacy. It implies a moral economy where virtuous actions are a form of spiritual capital.
Variants and Related Words
- Âm phúc (n): Similar to "âm đức," meaning hidden blessings or fortune stemming from virtue.
- Đức độ (n): Moral integrity and virtuous character.
- Phúc đức (n): Happiness and virtue; the combined idea of blessings and moral merit.
Synonyms
- Hidden merit: Goodness that is not publicly known.
- Karmic merit: Virtue accumulated through actions, affecting future outcomes.
- Ancestral virtue: The moral goodness passed down from ancestors.
Related Idioms
- Tích âm đức: To accumulate hidden virtue.
- Cứ sống tử tế, coi như là tích âm đức cho con cháu. (Just live kindly, consider it as accumulating hidden virtue for your descendants.)
- Hưởng âm đức: To enjoy the benefits of accumulated (ancestral) virtue.
- Cả dòng họ đều hưởng âm đức của cụ tổ. (The entire lineage enjoys the merit of the great ancestor.)