Definition

Verb: * To repay, to requite, to pay back: To compensate someone for a kindness, favor, or sacrifice they have made, often out of a sense of gratitude or moral obligation. It implies a return for something good received.

Usage

• The verb đền đáp is used to describe the action of giving back, often in a material or emotional form, to someone who has helped you or done good for you.
• It carries a strong connotation of gratitude, duty, and moral reciprocity. It is not used for simple commercial transactions or revenge.
• Common sentence patterns:
  • đền đáp + ai (someone) (to repay someone)
  • đền đáp + ơn nghĩa/ công ơn/ tình cảm (to repay kindness/grace/affection)

Examples

• (How can I ever repay all the grace of my parents who gave me life?)
• (She always wants to find a way to requite the help of her kind neighbors.)
• (He succeeded and returned to pay back his homeland.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đền đáp xứng đáng": To repay adequately, to give a worthy repayment.
  • Phần thưởng này là để đền đáp xứng đáng cho những nỗ lực của bạn. (This reward is to adequately repay your efforts.)
• "Lòng muốn đền đáp": The desire to repay, a feeling of wanting to give back.
  • Cô ấy nuôi dưỡng lòng muốn đền đáp những người đã cưu mang mình. (She harbors a desire to repay those who took her in.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đền (Verb): To compensate, to make amends (can be used for both positive repayment and negative compensation for damages).
• Đáp (Verb): To respond, to reply. When combined with , it strengthens the meaning of a reciprocal response to goodness.
• Báo đáp (Verb): A close synonym meaning to repay, to require (often used for kindness or grace).
• Báo ơn (Verb): To repay a favor/grace.
• Trả ơn (Verb): To return a favor, to repay kindness.

Synonyms

• Repay: To pay back (money or a favor).
• Requite: To make appropriate return for (a kindness, service, etc.).
• Reciprocate: To respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one.
• Compensate: To give something (often money) in recognition of loss, suffering, or effort.

Idioms and Fixed Expressions

• Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây, uống nước nhớ nguồn: (Literal: When eating fruit, remember the planter; when drinking water, remember the source.) This proverb encapsulates the moral imperative to remember and repay (đền đáp) one's benefactors and origins.

1. Pay one's debt of gratitude