Definition

1. Verb:
   • To stint oneself / to scrimp and save: To live very frugally, denying oneself even basic comforts, in order to save money over a long period.
   • To pinch pennies / to be extremely thrifty: To save money by cutting expenses to the bare minimum, often involving careful, painstaking effort.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Phải chắt bóp trong bao nhiêu năm mới có được món tiền ấy. (He had to stint himself for many years to get that sum of money.)
  • Chị ấy chắt bóp từng đồng để lo cho con ăn học. (She pinches every penny to provide for her child's education.)
  • Số tiền này là kết quả của nhiều năm chắt bóp. (This money is the result of many years of scrimping and saving.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "chắt bóp" strongly implies a prolonged, difficult, and often grim process of self-denial, usually out of necessity rather than choice. It conveys a sense of hardship and meticulous, almost painful, saving.

Variants and Related Words

• Dành dụm (v): to save up, to put aside (less intense than "chắt bóp").
• Tằn tiện (adj, v): to be stingy, frugal; to economize strictly.
• Tiết kiệm (v): to save, to economize (a more general and neutral term).

Synonyms

• To scrimp and save: To be extremely thrifty.
• To pinch pennies: To be overly careful with small amounts of money.
• To live frugally: To spend very little money.

Related Idioms

• Chắt chiu, dành dụm: To save meticulously and cherish what is saved. This phrase is often used together with or as a synonym for "chắt bóp," emphasizing the careful accumulation of resources.
  • Cả đời chắt chiu, dành dụm cho tương lai. (A lifetime of scrimping and saving for the future.)

1. To stint oneself in
   • phải chắt bóp trong bao nhiêu năm mới có được món tiền ấy
     that sum of money was the result of many years stinting himself in everything
   • chắt bóp từng đồng
     to stint oneself in money and save every penny