Definition

1. Verb:
   • To waste; to deplete: To use up or consume a valuable resource (such as money, health, or energy) excessively or regrettably, often leading to a significant loss or reduction.
   • To be costly; to entail great expense: To cause substantial financial expenditure or loss.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Dự án xây dựng này hao tổn rất nhiều ngân sách của công ty. (This construction project wastes a lot of the company's budget.)
  • Những cuộc cãi vã liên miên hao tổn tình cảm của họ. (Their constant arguments depleted their affection for each other.)
  • Việc lo lắng quá mức hao tổn sức khỏe tinh thần. (Excessive worry is costly to mental health.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb is often used in formal or written contexts to describe the gradual or significant erosion of abstract resources like time, vitality, or morale, not just physical objects or money.
  • Chiến tranh hao tổn nhân lực và của cải quốc gia. (War wastes a nation's manpower and wealth.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hao phí (v): to expend, to consume (often used for resources like energy, time). It can imply wastefulness but is sometimes more neutral than "hao tổn".

  • Tránh hao phí điện nước. (Avoid wasting water and electricity.)

• Tổn hao (v/n): a less common variant with the same meaning as "hao tổn", also used as a noun meaning "loss" or "depletion".

  • Tổn hao về nhân sự là không tránh khỏi. (Loss of personnel is inevitable.)

Synonyms

• To squander: To waste something carelessly or extravagantly.
• To deplete: To reduce the amount or number of something significantly.
• To drain: To cause something to flow away, using up a resource.

Related Idioms

• While "hao tổn" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is used in proverbial expressions about loss.
  • Buồn phiền hao tổn tâm trí. (Sorrow wastes the mind.)

verb

1. to waste; to spend much money