Definition

Tính từ (Adjective) / Thành ngữ (Idiom): - Broke, cleaned out, penniless: Describes a state of having completely run out of money, especially after spending it all. It often implies a sudden or complete loss of funds. - To be broke: The state of having no money left.

Usage Examples

• As an adjective (describing a state):
  • Sau chuyến du lịch dài ngày, tôi hoàn toàn cháy túi. (After the long trip, I am completely broke.)
  • Tháng này tiêu nhiều quá, cuối tháng là cháy túi ngay. (I spent too much this month, so I'm broke by the end of it.)
• Describing an event that causes the state:
  • Canh bạc đó khiến anh ta cháy túi. (That gambling session left him cleaned out.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sạch túi" or "cạn túi": These are close synonyms meaning "to be completely out of money." "Cháy túi" is the most vivid and colloquial.
  • Đi shopping một buổi là tôi sạch túi. (One afternoon of shopping and my wallet is empty.)
• Used to emphasize a total loss, not just being low on funds. It conveys a sense of having nothing left.

Variants and Related Words

• Hết tiền (v): To run out of money. (A more neutral and common phrase).
  • Tôi đã hết tiền rồi. (I have run out of money.)
• Viêm màng túi (idiom, humorous): Literally "inflamed wallet membrane," a jocular way to say one is broke.
• Túng quẫn (adj): To be in financial straits, destitute. (A stronger term implying hardship).

Synonyms

• Broke: Having no money.
• Penniless: Without a penny; completely without money.
• Cleaned out: Having spent or lost all of one's money.
• Flat broke (emphatic): Completely without money.

Related Idioms

• Cháy túi itself functions as a common Vietnamese idiom. There is no direct phrasal verb equivalent, as it is a fixed descriptive phrase.
• Hết sạch tiền: To be all out of money. (Literal and direct synonym).

Notes on Different Meanings

"Cháy túi" has only one core meaning related to finance. It does not refer to a literal fire ("cháy" = to burn) in this context. The imagery is of a wallet being "burned" empty. It is informal and colloquial.

1. (thông tục) Cleaned out
   • canh bạc cháy túi
     to be cleaned out in a gambling session