Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To act at the risk of one's life; to do something with total disregard for one's own safety: The phrase describes performing an action so recklessly or desperately that one's life is endangered. It implies a willingness to sacrifice one's life, often for a cause, out of necessity, or in a moment of extreme effort.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Anh ấy làm việc bán mạng để kiếm tiền nuôi gia đình. (He works himself to the bone / works at the risk of his life to earn money to support his family.)
  • Các chiến sĩ đã chiến đấu bán mạng để bảo vệ thành phố. (The soldiers fought desperately, risking their lives to protect the city.)
  • Đừng có lái xe bán mạng như thế! (Don't drive so recklessly / as if your life doesn't matter!)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase intensifies the verb it modifies, emphasizing extreme effort and danger. It is often used with verbs related to work, struggle, or fighting.
• "Làm bán mạng": to work oneself to death; to work excessively hard.
  • Công việc khó khăn khiến anh ta phải làm bán mạng mỗi ngày. (The difficult job forces him to work himself to the bone every day.)

Variants and Related Words

• Liều mạng (verb phrase): to act recklessly; to gamble with one's life. This is a close synonym but can sometimes imply more foolish risk-taking rather than desperate effort for a goal.
  • Hắn liều mạng vượt đèn đỏ. (He recklessly ran the red light.)
• Bán mình (verb phrase): to sell oneself (e.g., into servitude or prostitution). This is a different concept but shares the root "bán" (to sell), relating to sacrificing one's body or freedom, not necessarily life.

Synonyms

• Liều lĩnh (adj/verb): reckless, to act recklessly.
• Bất chấp nguy hiểm (verb phrase): to disregard danger.

Related Idioms

• "Làm việc quần quật" or "Làm việc cật lực": to work very hard, to toil. These emphasize hard labor but do not inherently carry the same connotation of life-threatening risk as "bán mạng".
• "Đánh đổi bằng mạng sống": to exchange with one's life; to pay with one's life. This describes the consequence or cost more directly.

1. At the risk of one's life