Definition

1. Verb:
   • To cohabit / to live together: To share a living space and daily life, often implying a close, communal, or intimate domestic arrangement.
   • To share indiscriminately: To use or partake in something (like possessions, food, or facilities) collectively without strict personal boundaries.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hai gia đình này đã chung chạ dưới một mái nhà suốt nhiều năm. (These two families have lived together under one roof for many years.)
  • Trong hoàn cảnh khó khăn, mọi người phải chung chạ đồ đạc với nhau. (In difficult circumstances, people had to share belongings with each other.)
  • Sóng gió một con thuyền chung chạ. (In stormy weather, we were together on one boat.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a nuance of a lack of privacy or propriety due to extremely close and shared living conditions. It can describe both neutral communal living and situations viewed as improper or promiscuous.
  • Lối sống chung chạ đó bị làng xóm dị nghị. (That cohabiting lifestyle was gossiped about by the villagers.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chung sống (v): to live together, cohabit (a more neutral term).

  • Họ chung sống hòa thuận. (They live together harmoniously.)

• Chung đụng (v): to come into contact with; to be in close, shared use (often for objects or spaces).

  • Những đồ dùng công cộng thường xuyên bị chung đụng. (Public facilities are frequently used by everyone.)

Synonyms

• Cohabit: to live together, often as if married.
• Share: to use, occupy, or enjoy jointly.
• Commune: to live in a close-knit community, sharing possessions and life.

Related Idioms

• Chung chạ bát đĩa: To share bowls and plates; idiomatically meaning to live in very close, intimate quarters with little distinction between individuals' property.
  • Cuộc sống trong trại tị nạn, ai cũng phải chung chạ bát đĩa. (Life in the refugee camp meant everyone had to share bowls and plates.)

1. To share everything in everyday life
2. To share bed and board