cướp công
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To take credit for someone else's work/achievement: To unjustly claim or appropriate the credit, merit, or reward that rightfully belongs to another person for their labor, idea, or success.
- To deprive someone of the fruits of their labor: To cause someone to lose the deserved benefit or reward from their hard work, often through deceit or unfairness.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Anh ta luôn tìm cách cướp công của đồng nghiệp. (He always tries to take credit for his colleagues' work.)
- Đừng để họ cướp công sáng tạo của bạn. (Don't let them steal the credit for your creative idea.)
- Hành động đó thực chất là cướp công người khác. (That action is essentially taking credit from others.)
Advanced Usage
- "cướp công cha mẹ": This is a traditional Vietnamese idiom. It literally means "to rob one's parents of their labor/merit." It is used to describe a situation where a child dies prematurely, thereby depriving their parents of the expected care, support, and comfort in old age that would be the rightful "reward" for the parents' lifelong effort in raising the child. It conveys a profound sense of loss and injustice for the parents.
- Đứa con mất sớm, thật là cướp công cha mẹ. (The child died young, truly robbing the parents of their due.)
Variants and Related Words
- Chiếm công (verb phrase): To seize/claim credit. This is a close synonym, though "cướp công" often implies a more forceful or unethical act.
- Cướp (verb): To rob, to snatch. The core verb meaning to take by force or unlawfully.
- Công lao (noun): Merit, contribution, labor. The "công" in "cướp công" refers to this.
Synonyms
- Take credit for: To claim recognition for something one did not do.
- Steal the credit: To wrongfully take the acknowledgment for an achievement.
- Reap where one has not sown: An idiom meaning to benefit from others' work without contributing.
Related Phrases/Idioms
- Ăn cướp cơm chim: Literally "to rob a bird of its rice." This idiom describes taking something very small and hard-earned from someone weak, emphasizing pettiness and cruelty. It shares the concept of unjust taking present in "cướp công".