Definition

1. Intransitive Verb:
   • To beg, to ask for alms: To go from place to place asking for food, money, or other necessities as charity, typically due to poverty or as a religious practice.

Usage

• General Usage: The verb "hành khất" describes the specific act of begging, often involving moving from one location to another. It is more formal and literary than the simpler word "xin".
• Typical Contexts: Used in historical, literary, or formal descriptions of poverty, or in the context of religious mendicants (e.g., Buddhist monks on alms rounds).

Usage Examples

• Intransitive Verb:
  • Ông cụ già phải đi hành khất để sống qua ngày. (The old man had to go begging to survive each day.)
  • Trong một số tôn giáo, các nhà sư đi hành khất mỗi sáng. (In some religions, monks go on alms rounds every morning.)
  • Câu chuyện kể về một người đàn ông sau biến cố đã phải sống đời hành khất. (The story tells of a man who, after a catastrophe, had to live a life of begging.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đi hành khất": This is a common collocation emphasizing the act of going out to beg.
  • Họ rời làng, lang thang đi hành khất khắp nơi. (They left the village, wandering everywhere to beg.)
• Used in classical literature and poetry to depict hardship and social conditions.

Variants and Related Words

• Kẻ hành khất / Người hành khất (Noun): A beggar; a mendicant.
  • Những kẻ hành khất tụ tập trước chợ. (The beggars gathered in front of the market.)
• Ăn xin (Verb): A more common, everyday synonym for "to beg".
• Khất thực (Verb): Specifically refers to the practice of Buddhist monks collecting alms (food). While similar, "khất thực" is more specific to a religious context, whereas "hành khất" can be more general.

Synonyms

• Ăn mày: To beg (can carry a slightly more derogatory connotation).
• Xin: To ask for (a more general and neutral term).

Notes on Meaning

• Primary Meaning: The core meaning is the act of begging for sustenance or alms. It often implies movement ("hành" means to go, to travel) and a degree of itinerancy.
• Connotation: The word itself is neutral and descriptive, though the social act it describes is often associated with poverty and hardship. In religious contexts (like Buddhism), it can carry a positive, respectful connotation as a spiritual practice.

verb

1. to beg
   • kẻ hành khất
     beggar; mendicant