Definition

1. Verb (colloquial):
   • To haggle; to bargain aggressively: To negotiate, often in a persistent or petty manner, to try to get a lower price than what is already offered or agreed upon. It carries a nuance of being overly fussy or trying to reduce the price further even when it is already low or reasonable.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đã mua rẻ lại còn muốn bớt xớ. (It was already a bargain, but she still wanted to haggle.)
  • Giá này là cố định, đừng có bớt xớ nữa. (This price is fixed, stop haggling.)
  • Bà ấy bớt xớ cả tiếng đồng hồ với người bán hàng. (She haggled with the seller for a whole hour.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "bớt xớ" is almost exclusively used in spoken, informal Vietnamese (khẩu ngữ). It often implies a slightly negative judgment on the behavior, suggesting the haggling is unnecessary, excessive, or annoying given the circumstances.

Variants and Related Words

• Bớt xén (v): The standard, more formal synonym for "to haggle" or "to bargain down." "Bớt xớ" is a colloquial variant of this word.

  • Khách hàng cứ cố bớt xén thêm vài nghìn đồng. (The customer kept trying to haggle down a few thousand dong more.)

• Mặc cả (v): To bargain; to negotiate a price. This is a more neutral and common term for haggling.

  • Ở chợ, việc mặc cả là rất bình thường. (In the market, bargaining is very normal.)

Synonyms

• Haggle: To argue over the terms of a transaction, especially price.
• Bargain down: To negotiate to achieve a lower price.
• Nickel-and-dime (verb, informal): To haggle over very small amounts of money.

Related Idioms

• While there is no direct idiom with "bớt xớ", the behavior it describes is central to the common market culture. A related concept is:
  • Mua một đồng, bớt một cắc: (To buy for one dong, haggle down one hao) – Describes the act of haggling over every tiny amount, emphasizing pettiness.

khẩu ngữ

1. như bớt xén
2. To bargain, to haggle
   • đã mua rẻ lại còn muốn bớt xén
     though it was a bargain, she still haggled