Definition

1. Verb:
   • To serve, to work as a servant: The word "ở đợ" refers to the act of living and working in someone else's household as a domestic servant, typically performing chores and serving the family. This term is now considered archaic (cũ).
   • To lodge temporarily, to stay temporarily: In some historical or regional contexts, it can also imply staying temporarily at someone's place, though this meaning is less common and often overlaps with "ở đậu".

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy phải đi ở đợ cho một gia đình giàu có để kiếm sống. (She had to go and serve/be a servant for a wealthy family to make a living.)
  • Ngày xưa, nhiều người nghèo thường gửi con đi ở đợ. (In the past, many poor people often sent their children to work as servants.)
  • Ông ấy đến ở đợ nhà tôi một thời gian khi chưa tìm được chỗ ở. (He came to stay temporarily at my house for a while when he hadn't found a place to live.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is almost exclusively used in historical contexts, literature, or when describing past social conditions. In modern Vietnamese, the concept is more commonly described with phrases like "làm người giúp việc" (to work as a helper/maid) or "ở thuê" (to live in as a hired help).
• The nuance often involves a sense of dependency and menial labor within the employer's household.

Variants and Related Words

• Ở đậu (verb): To lodge, to stay temporarily. This is a more neutral and common term for temporary stays without the connotation of servitude.
  • Tôi chỉ ở đậu vài hôm thôi. (I'm only staying for a few days.)
• Ở mướn (verb): To live in as a hired laborer/tenant. Similar to "ở đợ" but can apply to farmhands or other types of hired live-in help.
• Đầy tớ (noun): Servant. The noun for the person who "ở đợ".

Synonyms

• Phục vụ: To serve (more general, not specifically as a live-in servant).
• Hầu hạ: To attend to, to wait on (someone). This emphasizes the act of serving.
• Làm công: To work as hired labor.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Đi ở: A shortened, colloquial form meaning "to go work as a live-in servant". This is closely related to "ở đợ".
  • Bà cố tôi ngày trước từng phải đi ở. (My great-grandmother once had to go work as a servant.)
• Ở đợ làm mướn: A phrase combining "ở đợ" and "làm mướn" (to work for hire), emphasizing both the living arrangement and the labor.

1. (cũ) Serve, be a servant