Definition

1. Idiom:
   • To have enough to eat / to have sufficient food: The literal meaning refers to having enough rice or food to fill one's bowl, indicating basic food security.
   • To make ends meet / to have enough to get by: A figurative meaning describing a state of having just enough resources for one's fundamental daily needs, without surplus.

Usage Examples

• Idiom:
  • Gia đình tôi lao động vất vả chỉ mong đủ bát ăn. (My family works hard just to have enough to eat.)
  • Công việc này lương không cao, nhưng cũng đủ bát ăn. (This job doesn't pay well, but it's enough to get by.)
  • Ước mơ của họ rất giản dị: một mái nhà và đủ bát ăn. (Their dream is simple: a roof over their head and enough to eat.)

Advanced Usage

• The idiom often implies a modest, subsistence-level existence. It can be used to express contentment with basic necessities or to highlight a lack of prosperity.
  • Anh ấy không mơ giàu sang, chỉ cần đủ bát ăn là mãn nguyện. (He doesn't dream of wealth and luxury; he is content just to have enough to get by.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đủ cơm ăn áo mặc: A related idiom with a similar meaning, extending to having enough food and clothing.
  • Làm quanh năm suốt tháng cho đủ cơm ăn áo mặc. (To work all year round just to have enough food and clothing.)

Synonyms

• To have enough to live on: To possess sufficient resources for basic living.
• To make ends meet: To have just enough money to pay for one's basic expenses.
• To be self-sufficient (in basic needs): To be able to provide for one's fundamental requirements.

Related Idioms

• Đủ sống: (to have) enough to live.
  • Đồng lương ấy chỉ đủ sống. (That salary is only enough to live on.)
• Chạy ăn từng bữa: to live hand to mouth (a more precarious state than "đủ bát ăn").
  • Họ đang trong cảnh chạy ăn từng bữa. (They are living hand to mouth.)