Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To engage in small-scale, itinerant trading or vending: "chạy chợ" describes the activity of selling goods, often in markets or by moving from place to place, typically involving small quantities and low profit margins. It implies a livelihood based on daily, hands-on trading efforts.
   • To make a living through petty trade: It conveys the idea of sustaining oneself or one's family through the constant, often arduous work of buying and selling miscellaneous goods.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Bà ấy chạy chợ nuôi ba đứa con. (She makes a living by petty trading to raise her three children.)
  • Công việc chính của họ là chạy chợ, bán rau quả. (Their main job is to huckster, selling vegetables and fruits.)
  • Ông ấy quanh năm chạy chợ ở các tỉnh lân cận. (He spends the whole year huckstering in neighboring provinces.)

Advanced Usage

• "chạy chợ kiếm sống": to make a living by huckstering/petty trade.

  • Sau khi mất việc, anh ta phải chạy chợ kiếm sống. (After losing his job, he had to make a living by huckstering.)

• "cuộc sống chạy chợ": a life of petty trading.

  • Cuộc sống chạy chợ vất vả nhưng tự do. (A life of petty trade is hard but free.)

Variants and Related Words

• Buôn bán (v): to trade, to do business (a more general term for commerce).
• Bán hàng rong (v/n): to be a street vendor / street vending.
• Đi chợ (v): to go to the market (usually to buy, not to sell).

Synonyms

• To huckster: To sell or promote goods, especially in a aggressive or petty manner.
• To peddle: To sell goods, especially by traveling from place to place.
• To hawk: To offer goods for sale by calling out in the street or market.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As "chạy chợ" is a fixed Vietnamese verb phrase, it does not have direct English phrasal verb equivalents. Its meaning is captured by the synonyms and definitions above.

Related Idioms

• "Đầu tắt mặt tối": (lit: head extinguished, face dark) To work extremely hard from dawn till dusk. This idiom often describes the exhausting nature of work like "chạy chợ."
  • Cả ngày chạy chợ, đầu tắt mặt tối chẳng có lúc nào nghỉ ngơi. (Huckstering all day, working tirelessly without a moment's rest.)

1. To huckster
   • quanh năm chạy chợ, gặp gì buôn nấy
     to huckster all year round and trade in anything