Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Greedy and stingy: "biển lận" describes a person who is both excessively desirous of material gain (greedy) and unwilling to share or spend what they have (stingy, miserly). It implies a combination of avarice and pettiness.

Usage

• "Biển lận" is used to describe a person's character or behavior. It is a strongly negative term.
• It functions as a predicate adjective (tính từ vị ngữ) or an attributive adjective (tính từ chỉ định).
  • As a predicate: Anh ta rất biển lận. (He is very greedy and stingy.)
  • As an attributive: một người đàn ông biển lận (a greedy and stingy man)

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông chủ đó nổi tiếng là keo kiệt và biển lận. (That boss is famous for being miserly and greedy/stingy.)
  • Thái độ biển lận của họ khiến không ai muốn hợp tác. (Their greedy and stingy attitude makes nobody want to cooperate.)
  • Đừng có biển lận với chính người thân của mình. (Don't be greedy and stingy with your own family.)

Advanced Usage / Nuances

• The word "biển lận" is formed from two Sino-Vietnamese elements: "biển" (narrow, petty) and "lận" (stingy). Thus, it carries the connotation of being petty in one's stinginess and greed.
• It often describes not just a single action but a deep-seated, habitual character trait.

Variants and Related Words

• Keo kiệt (adj): Stingy, miserly. (Focuses more on unwillingness to spend/share).
• Tham lam (adj): Greedy, avaricious. (Focuses more on excessive desire for more).
• Bủn xỉn (adj): Stingy, mean. (Colloquial, similar to "keo kiệt").
• Hà tiện (adj): Parsimonious, frugal to a fault. (Can be slightly less harsh than "biển lận").

Synonyms

• Bần tiện: Mean, sordidly stingy.
• Rapiat (from French): Avaricious, grasping. (Used in older or literary contexts).

Related Idioms / Phrases

• While "biển lận" itself is not typically part of a larger idiom, it is conceptually related to proverbs about greed and stinginess, such as:
  • Tham thì thâm: Greed leads to loss. (Literal: Greed is deep/dark).

adj

1. Greedy and stingy
   • con người biển lận
     a greedy and stingy person