đón trước
Definition
- Verb:
- To anticipate / To foresee: To think about or prepare for something before it happens. This involves predicting a future event or need and acting accordingly.
- To preempt / To forestall: To take action to prevent something from happening or to get ahead of a potential issue or competitor.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Công ty đã đón trước xu hướng thị trường. (The company anticipated the market trend.)
- Hãy đón trước những câu hỏi khó từ khán giả. (Anticipate the difficult questions from the audience.)
- Đội nhà cố gắng đón trước đường chuyền của đối thủ. (The home team tried to intercept the opponent's pass [literally: to anticipate the opponent's pass].)
Advanced Usage
- Used in strategic contexts like business, sports, or planning to describe a proactive, rather than reactive, approach.
- Often implies a strategic advantage gained by acting early.
Variants and Related Words
- Đón đầu: (verb) To get ahead of, to preempt. Often used interchangeably with "đón trước" in competitive contexts.
- Họ luôn tìm cách đón đầu đối thủ. (They always seek ways to get ahead of their competitors.)
Synonyms
- Anticipate: To regard as probable; expect or predict.
- Foresee: To be aware of beforehand; predict.
- Preempt: To take action in order to prevent an anticipated event from happening.
- Forestall: To prevent or obstruct by taking action ahead of time.
Related Idioms
- While "đón trước" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, its meaning is central to the strategic concept of "đón đầu đối phương" (to preempt/get the jump on an opponent).