a dua

See also: adua, Adua, and ádua

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 阿諛 (“to flatter; to butter up”, SV: a du).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧ zuə˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧ juə˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧ juə˧˧]

Verb

a dua • (阿諛)

1. to ape; to blindly imitate (something bad or wrong from others)

   Synonyms: hùa, vào hùa

   • Analects, XIII.23; 1972, Vietnamese translation & annotations by Nguyễn Hiến Lê

     - Khổng tử nói: “Người quân tử hoà hợp nhưng không a dua, kẻ tiểu nhân a dua mà không hoà hợp.”

     Confucius said: “The noble person acts harmoniously yet is not conformist; the petty person is conformist yet does not act harmoniously.”