Definition

1. Verb:
   • To waste, to diminish, to be depleted: Refers to the gradual decrease or loss of quantity, often due to natural processes or inefficient use.
   • To cost, to consume (more than usual or necessary): Indicates using or requiring more resources than the standard, normal, or necessary amount.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Dầu bay hơi, hao mất nhiều. (The oil evaporates, a lot is wasted.)
  • Mạ nhỏ cây, cấy hao lắm. (With small seedlings, planting consumes/wastes a lot [of them].)
  • Cuộc chiến tranh hao người tốn của. (The war wastes/depletes people and resources.)

Advanced Usage

• "hao mòn": to wear out, to erode (often used for machinery, materials, or energy over time).
  • Máy móc sử dụng lâu ngày sẽ bị hao mòn. (Machinery used for a long time will wear out.)
• "hao tổn": to suffer loss/depletion (often used for abstract things like strength, morale, finances).
  • Sự kiện đó gây hao tổn tinh thần rất lớn. (That event caused great depletion/loss of morale.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tiêu hao (verb): to consume, to use up (often in a planned or expected way, but can imply waste).
  • Động cơ này tiêu hao nhiều nhiên liệu. (This engine consumes a lot of fuel.)
• Hao hụt (verb): to have a shortfall, to be lost/missing (often refers to an unexpected or unaccounted-for loss in quantity).
  • Kiểm kê phát hiện hao hụt hàng hoá. (The inventory check discovered a shortfall/loss of goods.)

Synonyms

• Lãng phí: to waste (emphasizes careless or unnecessary use).
• Tốn kém: to be costly, to be expensive (emphasizes the high cost or consumption).
• Giảm sút: to decrease, to diminish (emphasizes the reduction itself).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Hao đi: to gradually diminish/fade away (often used for abstract things).
  • Nỗi buồn dần dần hao đi. (The sadness gradually fades away.)

Related Idioms

• Hao người tốn của: (idiom) to waste/deplete both human lives and material wealth. Used to describe costly endeavors, especially wars or large projects with heavy losses.
  • Chiến tranh là hao người tốn của. (War wastes lives and drains resources.)

verb

1. to waste