Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To steal someone's husband: The act of taking another woman's husband away, typically by initiating a romantic or sexual relationship with him, resulting in him leaving his wife or partner.
   • To seduce another's husband: To deliberately attract and entice a married man to have an affair, with the implication of taking him from his family.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Cô ta bị cả làng lên án vì tội cướp chồng người khác. (She was condemned by the whole village for the crime of stealing another's husband.)
  • Câu chuyện về một người phụ nữ đi cướp chồng bạn thân gây xôn xao dư luận. (The story of a woman who stole her best friend's husband caused a public stir.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is highly pejorative and carries a strong moral judgment. It is used to assign blame, often solely to the woman involved, within a traditional social context.
• It implies a deliberate, active, and morally wrong action that destroys an existing marriage or family unit.

Variants and Related Words

• Cướp vợ (verb phrase): To steal someone's wife. The male-gendered counterpart to "cướp chồng."
  • Hắn cướp vợ của đồng nghiệp. (He stole his colleague's wife.)

Synonyms

• To steal someone's husband: The direct conceptual synonym in English.
• To break up a marriage: A more general phrase for causing a marriage to end.
• To seduce a married man: Describes the method of the action.

Related Idioms and Cultural Context

• The concept is often discussed in the context of "kẻ thứ ba" (the third party) or "người thứ ba" (the third person), referring to the person who intrudes into a marriage.
• While not a fixed idiom, the action is frequently described as "phá hoại hạnh phúc gia đình" (to destroy family happiness).