đành lòng
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Satisfied; contented; resigned: A state of accepting a situation, often reluctantly, because no better alternative exists. It implies a quiet, sometimes sorrowful, acceptance rather than joyful satisfaction.
- Having the heart to (do something): Used to express whether one can bring oneself to do something, often involving a difficult emotional decision.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Thấy hoàn cảnh khó khăn của họ, tôi không đành lòng từ chối. (Seeing their difficult situation, I could not bring myself to refuse.)
- Cô ấy đành lòng chờ đợi thêm, dù rất sốt ruột. (She resigned herself to waiting longer, though she was very impatient.)
- Anh ấy đã đành lòng ra đi, bỏ lại tất cả. (He resignedly left, abandoning everything.)
Advanced Usage
- "Đành lòng chịu": to resign oneself to enduring/suffering something.
- Vì con cái, bà ấy đành lòng chịu vất vả. (For her children, she resigned herself to hardship.)
Variants and Related Words
- Đành (v/adj): to have to accept; to be forced to agree. Often used to express reluctant concession.
- Đành thôi, chúng ta sẽ đi vào ngày mai. (Alright then, we'll go tomorrow [with reluctance].)
- Đành đoạn (adv): resolutely, determinedly (often after a difficult decision).
- Cô ấy đành đoạn rời bỏ quê hương. (She resolutely left her homeland.)
Synonyms
- Resigned: having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot change.
- Contented (with reluctance): accepting a situation, though not ideally happy.
- Reconciled to: having come to accept a situation.
Related Idioms
- Không đành lòng: cannot bear to; cannot bring oneself to. This negative form is very common.
- Tôi không đành lòng nhìn nó khóc. (I cannot bear to see it cry.)
- Đành lòng nào...: How could one bear to...? (A rhetorical question expressing the difficulty of an action).
- Đành lòng nào bỏ mặc nó? (How could we bear to abandon it?)