Definition

1. Adjective (Slang):
   • Broke; penniless; flat broke: Describes a state of having no money, being completely out of cash. It is a casual, often humorous or self-deprecating term.
   • Financially drained; cleaned out: Emphasizes a state where one's money has been completely spent or exhausted.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Tháng này hết tiền rồi, tôi bô xu thật rồi. (I'm out of money this month, I'm completely broke.)
  • Đi chơi dạo ấy về là bô xu luôn. (After that trip, I came back flat broke.)
  • Không mượn được đâu, nó cũng đang bô xu đấy. (Don't bother borrowing from him, he's penniless too.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "bô xu" is considered informal and is commonly used in spoken language among friends. It carries a lighter, less severe connotation than more formal terms for poverty.

Variants and Related Words

• Hết tiền (v/phr): to be out of money. A more neutral and common phrase.

  • Tôi đã hết tiền mặt. (I am out of cash.)

• Cháy túi (adj, slang): to be broke (literally, "wallet burned out"). Similar informal slang.

  • Mua cái điện thoại mới xong là cháy túi. (After buying the new phone, my wallet is burned out.)

Synonyms

• Penniless: Having no money.
• Broke: Informal for having no money.
• Skint: British informal synonym for having little or no money.

Related Idioms

• Túng quẫn: to be in dire financial straits; destitute. This is a stronger, more serious term than "bô xu".
  • Công ty phá sản, gia đình họ lâm vào cảnh túng quẫn. (The company went bankrupt, plunging their family into destitution.)