Definitions

1. Verb:
   • To stint oneself in everything; to live very frugally: To severely restrict one's own spending and consumption, especially on food and basic necessities, often to save money or due to poverty.
   • To stomach it; to endure/suffer something unpleasant without complaint: To force oneself to tolerate a difficult or unfair situation, suppressing one's feelings or objections.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To stint oneself):

  • Gia đình anh ấy phải bóp bụng để dành tiền cho con đi học. (His family had to stint themselves to save money for their child's education.)
  • Tháng này chi tiêu nhiều quá, chắc phải bóp bụng vài tuần. (Spending was too high this month; I'll probably have to tighten my belt for a few weeks.)

• Verb (To stomach it):

  • Dù bị đối xử bất công, anh ta vẫn bóp bụng mà chịu đựng vì sợ mất việc. (Even though treated unfairly, he stomached it and endured because he was afraid of losing his job.)
  • Cô ấy bóp bụng nhịn đói chờ đến bữa ăn từ thiện. (She grinned and bore it, going hungry while waiting for the charity meal.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a significant, conscious effort of self-denial or forced acceptance. It is used in contexts of economic hardship, sacrifice, or silent suffering.
• It can describe both a prolonged state (e.g., living frugally for months) and a specific act of endurance (e.g., tolerating an insult).

Variants and Related Words

• Bóp bụng bóp miệng: An intensified variant emphasizing cutting back on both food ("bụng" - stomach) and speech ("miệng" - mouth), meaning to endure hardship in complete silence and frugality.
• Chịu đựng (verb): To endure, to bear. A more general synonym for the "stomach it" meaning.
• Tằn tiện (adjective): Frugal, thrifty. Describes a general habit of careful spending, less extreme than "bóp bụng".
• Nhịn (verb): To refrain, to abstain (e.g., from eating, speaking). A core action within the concept of "bóp bụng".

Synonyms

• Thắt lưng buộc bụng: An idiom meaning "to tighten one's belt," very close in meaning to the frugality sense.
• Cam chịu: To resign oneself to, to accept (a negative situation) passively.
• Kìm nén: To suppress, to hold back (feelings).

Related Phrases

• Bóp bụng mua: To painfully save up to buy something expensive, emphasizing the sacrifice involved in the purchase.
  • Anh ta bóp bụng mua chiếc xe máy mới. (He scrimped and saved to buy the new motorbike.)

Related Idioms

• Bóp bụng nuôi mồm: A less common variant similar to "bóp bụng bóp miệng," highlighting the conflict between sustaining oneself and staying silent.
• Nếm mật nằm gai: An idiom meaning "to taste gall and lie on thorns," describing enduring hardship and bitterness to achieve a long-term goal. This is more about persevering through pain for a future reward, while "bóp bụng" focuses on current deprivation or forced tolerance.

1. To stint oneself in everything
   • bóp bụng để dành tiền
     to stint oneself in everything to save money
2. To stomach it
   • bóp bụng mà chịu, không dám nói gì
     he stomached it and did not dare say a word