Definition

1. Phrase:
   • To get even, to settle a score, to pay back: Expresses the idea of taking action to compensate for a past wrong, hardship, or injustice, often with a sense of vindication or retribution.
   • To be worth it, to make it worthwhile: Used to indicate that an action or effort compensates for or justifies a previous difficulty or suffering.

Usage Examples

• Phrase:
  • Anh ấy đã làm việc chăm chỉ cả năm, giờ đi nghỉ mát cho bõ. (He worked hard all year; now he's going on vacation to make it worthwhile.)
  • Cô ấy mắng nó một trận cho bõ tức. (She gave him a scolding to vent her anger / to get it out of her system.)
  • Hôm nay tôi sẽ ngủ nướng cho bõ những đêm thức khuya. (Today I will sleep in to make up for all those late nights.)

Advanced Usage

• "cho bõ ghét": Serves you/him/them right! (Expresses schadenfreude or that someone deserved a negative outcome).
  • Nó bị phạt? Cho bõ ghét! (He got punished? Serves him right!)
• "cho bõ công": To make the effort worthwhile, to justify the work put in.
  • Chúng ta phải chiến thắng trận này cho bõ công luyện tập. (We must win this match to make all the training worthwhile.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bõ (verb, archaic/regional): To compensate, to make up for. Rarely used alone in modern standard Vietnamese; primarily found in this fixed phrase "cho bõ".
• Đền bù (verb): To compensate, to reimburse (more formal and direct than "cho bõ").
• Trả thù (verb): To take revenge, to retaliate (stronger and more aggressive than the retributive sense of "cho bõ").

Synonyms

• Để bù lại: To make up for.
• Cho hả: To vent (a feeling), to get it out of one's system (often for anger).
• Cho đáng: To be deserving (of the effort/struggle).

Related Phrases

• Cho bõ...lòng: To satisfy a feeling/desire (e.g., - to satisfy the longing).
• Làm cho bõ: To do something to the full extent as compensation (e.g., - Eat to your heart's content [as compensation]).

Related Idioms

• Ăn cho bõ: To eat one's fill (often after a period of deprivation).
  • Suốt tuần ăn kiêng, cuối tuần này tôi sẽ ăn cho bõ. (I was on a diet all week; this weekend I'll eat to my heart's content.)
• Ngủ cho bõ: To sleep in / catch up on sleep.
  • Cuối tuần được ngủ cho bõ thật sướng. (It feels great to catch up on sleep on the weekend.)