bóp cổ
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb: 1. To strangle; to choke by squeezing the neck: To use physical force with one's hands to compress someone's throat, restricting breathing. 2. (Figurative) To oppress ruthlessly; to exploit; to fleece: To apply extreme pressure, often financially or through power, to exploit someone severely, leaving them with little recourse.
Usage Examples
Literal meaning:
- Tên cướp định bóp cổ nạn nhân. (The robber tried to strangle the victim.)
- Cô ấy hoảng sợ khi bị bóp cổ. (She was terrified when she was choked.)
Figurative meaning:
- Chính sách thuế mới bóp cổ các doanh nghiệp nhỏ. (The new tax policy is strangling small businesses.)
- Bọn cho vay nặng lãi bóp cổ người dân nghèo. (The loan sharks are ruthlessly exploiting the poor people.)
Advanced Usage
- "bóp cổ tài chính": to cause financial strangulation.
- Lạm phát cao đang bóp cổ tài chính của nhiều gia đình. (High inflation is financially strangling many families.)
Variants and Related Words
- Bóp hầu (verb): A stronger, more emphatic synonym for the figurative meaning, implying brutal exploitation or fleecing.
- Bọn buôn gian bán lận bóp hầu người tiêu dùng. (The fraudulent merchants are brutally fleecing the consumers.)
- Siết cổ (verb): Can be used similarly, both literally (to throttle) and figuratively (to squeeze, to put in a stranglehold).
- Bức tử (verb): To force into a fatal situation; to cause the demise of (e.g., a business).
Synonyms
- Nghĩa đen (Literal): siết cổ (to throttle), thắt cổ (to hang/to constrict the neck).
- Nghĩa bóng (Figurative): bóc lột (to exploit), áp bức (to oppress), bòn rút (to drain), chèn ép (to squeeze/pressure).
Related Idioms
- "Bóp nặn": To squeeze and press; to extort or exploit gradually and thoroughly.
- Chủ nhà bóp nặn tiền thuê từ các hộ gia đình. (The landlord squeezed rent money from the households.)
- "Vắt chanh bỏ vỏ": (To squeeze the lemon and throw away the peel) - To exploit someone to the maximum and then discard them when they are no longer useful. This idiom conveys a similar idea of ruthless exploitation but with an added element of abandonment.
verb
- To oppress ruthlessly
- To fleece, to sting
- bọn đầu cơ tích trữ bóp cổ khách hàngthe hoarders and speculators fleece the consumers