Definition

1. Noun:
   • A very small amount of rice or food: Literally "bird's rice," this term refers to an extremely meager portion of food, barely enough to sustain someone, akin to the tiny amount a bird might eat.
   • A pittance; a meager livelihood: By extension, it refers to a very small income, resource, or means of survival, often describing what little a poor person has.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người nghèo chỉ kiếm được chút cơm chim để sống qua ngày. (The poor only manage to earn a pittance to get by each day.)
  • Bọn cường hào cướp cơm chim của dân làng. (The local tyrants take the bread from the mouths of the villagers.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is almost exclusively used in the fixed idiom "cướp cơm chim" (literally: to steal bird's rice). This idiom vividly describes the act of taking away the meager sustenance or livelihood from someone who is already extremely poor and vulnerable. It implies a deeply unjust and cruel action.

Variants and Related Words

• Cơm thừa canh cặn (n): Leftover rice and cold soup; scraps of food. This phrase also denotes meager sustenance but lacks the specific connotation of cruelty found in "cướp cơm chim."
• Bữa ăn đạm bạc (n): A simple, plain meal.

Synonyms

• Chút ít: A tiny bit, a small amount.
• Miếng ăn tối thiểu: The bare minimum of food.
• Kế sinh nhai ít ỏi: A meager livelihood.

Related Idioms

• Cướp cơm chim: To rob someone of their last crumb; to take away the meager means of survival from the poor. This is the primary and most common context for encountering the word "cơm chim."
  • Hành vi tăng giá thuê nhà trong khu ổ chuột chẳng khác nào cướp cơm chim. (The act of raising rent in the slum is no different from taking the bread from the mouths of the poor.)