English · Idiom Candidate

mend one's ways

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To change one's behavior to become better or more acceptable

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

thay đổi hành vi để trở nên tốt hơn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: to repair one's methods or habits

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

After getting in trouble, he decided to mend his ways

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent cải tà quy chính to switch from sin to the right path; to mend one's ways; to turn over a new leaf Tiếng Việt Near equivalent hối cải (verb) to mend one's ways Tiếng Việt Near equivalent turn over a new leaf Change conduct for the better. English · via cải tà quy chính

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Common questions

What does “mend one's ways” mean?

To change one's behavior to become better or more acceptable Literally: to repair one's methods or habits

Is “mend one's ways” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“cải tà quy chính” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.