Definitions

1. Noun:
   • Food, sustenance: Refers to the basic food one has to eat, often implying daily meals or livelihood.
   • Affectionate result, emotional bond: In a figurative sense, it can refer to the emotional ties or obligations resulting from being provided for or cared for, such as the debt of gratitude one feels towards a benefactor.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy lo cơm cháo cho cả gia đình. (He provides food for the whole family.)
  • Tôi mang ơn cơm cháo của ông ấy suốt đời. (I am forever indebted to him for his care and provision.)

Advanced Usage

• "cơm cháo gì": Used rhetorically to express that something is insignificant or not worth considering as proper sustenance or a real issue.
  • Mấy đồng đó thì cơm cháo gì! (Such a small amount of money is nothing!/That's not enough for a proper meal!)
• "nợ cơm cháo": Refers to a debt of gratitude for having been fed or taken care of.
  • Tôi không thể quên nợ cơm cháo của bà. (I cannot forget the debt I owe her for her care.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cơm nước (n): A similar compound meaning meals, daily sustenance.
  • Công việc này đủ để lo cơm nước hàng ngày. (This job is enough to provide daily meals.)
• Cơm áo gạo tiền (n): A four-word idiom literally meaning "rice, clothes, rice, money," representing the fundamental material necessities and pressures of life.
  • Cuộc sống bon chen vì cơm áo gạo tiền. (Life is a struggle for basic material needs.)

Synonyms

• Lương thực: Foodstuffs, provisions.
• Sự nuôi nấng: The act of raising/nurturing someone.

Related Phrases

• Ăn cơm cháo: To eat simple meals; to live a modest life.
  • Cả đời ông ấy chỉ quen ăn cơm cháo đạm bạc. (All his life, he has been accustomed to eating simple, modest meals.)

Related Idioms

• Cơm chẳng lành, canh chẳng ngọt: An idiom describing a situation where there is constant bickering and unhappiness, making even meals unpleasant.
  • Hai vợ chồng suốt ngày cãi nhau, cơm chẳng lành canh chẳng ngọt. (The husband and wife argue all day, there's no peace even at mealtimes.)