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

1. To oppress ruthlessly
2. To fleece, to sting
   • bọn đầu cơ tích trữ bóp cổ khách hàng
     the hoarders and speculators fleece the consumers