Definition

1. Verb:
   • To live at someone's expense, to sponge off someone: To habitually rely on another person for food, shelter, or financial support without contributing or reciprocating, often causing a burden.
   • To eat somebody out of house and home: To consume so much of someone's food and resources that it becomes a significant financial or material burden for them.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Thằng bé hàng xóm suốt ngày sang báo hại nhà tôi. (The neighbor's kid is always coming over to sponge off my family.)
  • Nó không chịu đi làm, cứ ở nhà báo hại bố mẹ. (He refuses to get a job and just stays at home living off his parents.)
  • Mấy đứa bạn đại học của con trai tôi đến chơi và báo hại cả tủ lạnh. (My son's college friends came to visit and ate us out of house and home.)

Advanced Usage

• "sống báo hại": To live as a parasite/dependent.

  • Anh ta đã lớn rồi nhưng vẫn sống báo hại gia đình. (He's grown up but still lives as a dependent on his family.)

• "ăn báo hại": To eat (in a way that) sponges off someone.

  • Mấy đứa trẻ hay sang ăn báo hại nhà bà ấy. (Those children often go to her house to eat, sponging off her.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ăn bám (verb): To live off, to sponge off. (A close synonym, often used interchangeably).

  • Nó chỉ biết ăn bám vợ. (He only knows how to live off his wife.)

• Ký sinh (verb/adjective): To parasitize; parasitic. (A stronger, more biological or figurative term).

  • Lối sống ký sinh vào xã hội là đáng lên án. (A parasitic lifestyle leeching off society is condemnable.)

Synonyms

• Sponge off: To obtain money, food, etc., from someone without giving anything in return.
• Live off someone: To depend on another person for financial support.
• Mooch off: (Informal) To beg or borrow from others without intending to repay.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a Vietnamese verb, "báo hại" does not have phrasal verbs in the English sense. The concept is expressed through the verb itself or its synonyms.

Related Idioms

• "Ăn không ngồi rồi": To be idle and live off others; to eat in idleness.

  • Nó chẳng làm gì, suốt ngày ăn không ngồi rồi báo hại gia đình. (He does nothing, is idle all day, and sponges off his family.)

• "Ở đậu nằm chờ": To lodge and wait around (implying being a burden as a guest).

  • Họ hàng từ quê lên, ở đậu nằm chờ báo hại cả tháng. (Relatives from the countryside came up, lodged here, and sponged off us for a whole month.)

verb

1. ăn báo hại ai To eat somebody out of house and home