chầu mồm

chầu mồm

Công nhân ngồi chầu mồm ở công trường vì máy hỏng.

Definition
  1. Verb phrase (informal):
    • To be idle, to be unemployed, to be out of work: "Chầu mồm" is a colloquial expression used to describe the state of having nothing to do, often due to a lack of work or job.
    • To be at a loose end, to be killing time: It can also imply spending time idly or waiting around without any specific purpose or activity.
Usage Examples
  • Verb phrase:
    • Công ty đóng cửa, anh ấy phải chầu mồm ở nhà mấy tháng nay. (The company closed down, so he has been idle at home for several months now.)
    • Hết việc rồi, tôi chỉ còn biết chầu mồm chờ giờ tan sở. (The work is finished, so I have nothing to do but kill time until quitting time.)
Advanced Usage
  • "chầu mồm chầu miệng": An extended, more emphatic variant with the same meaning, emphasizing prolonged idleness.
    • Mùa này ít khách, các thợ sửa xe toàn ngồi chầu mồm chầu miệng. (It's the low season with few customers, so the mechanics are just sitting around idle.)
Variants and Related Words

  • Thất nghiệp (v/n): To be unemployed; unemployment. This is the standard, formal term.

    • Tỷ lệ thất nghiệp đang tăng. (The unemployment rate is rising.)

  • Ngồi chơi xơi nước (idiom): To sit around, drinking tea and chatting; to be at leisure. It describes idleness but often in a more relaxed, less negative context than "chầu mồm".

    • Các cụ già thường ra quán ngồi chơi xơi nước. (The elderly often go to the tea shop to sit around, drink tea, and chat.)

  • Rảnh rỗi (adj): Free, unoccupied, at leisure. A neutral or positive term for having free time.

    • Tôi sẽ gọi cho bạn khi tôi rảnh rỗi. (I will call you when I am free.)
Synonyms
  • Nhàn rỗi: To be idle, to be at leisure.
  • Vô công rồi nghề: To be jobless and idle (idiomatic).
Related Idioms

  • Ngồi mát ăn bát vàng: To live comfortably without working hard (literally: to sit in the cool shade and eat a bowl of gold). This implies easy living, not necessarily unemployment.

    • Anh ta có tiền đầu tư, giờ chỉ ngồi mát ăn bát vàng. (He has investment money, now he just lives comfortably without working.)

  • Ăn không ngồi rồi: To be idle and do nothing; to lead an idle life. Very close in meaning to "chầu mồm" but can carry a stronger negative connotation of laziness.

    • Không chịu đi làm, suốt ngày ăn không ngồi rồi ở nhà. (He refuses to get a job and just idles around at home all day.)