háu ăn
Definition
- Adjective:
- Gluttonous, greedy for food: "háu ăn" describes a person or animal who eats quickly, voraciously, and often shows excessive eagerness or greed for food.
- Eager, overeager: In a broader, often negative sense, it can describe someone who is overly eager to obtain something, not just food, implying a lack of restraint or manners.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Đứa trẻ đó rất háu ăn, ăn gì cũng nhanh và nhiều. (That child is very gluttonous, eating everything quickly and in large amounts.)
- Con chó của tôi háu ăn đến nỗi chưa bao giờ từ chối thức ăn. (My dog is so greedy for food that it has never refused a meal.)
- Anh ta háu ăn trong công việc, muốn nhận hết mọi dự án về mình. (He is overeager in work, wanting to take all projects for himself.)
Advanced Usage
- Used to describe metaphorical hunger: Can be applied to non-food contexts to criticize excessive desire.
- Một số nhà đầu tư háu ăn đã mất rất nhiều tiền. (Some greedy investors lost a lot of money.)
Variants and Related Words
- Háu: (adj) An independent word meaning eager, keen, or impatient. Often used in compound adjectives like "háu ăn".
- Tham ăn: (adj) A close synonym meaning greedy for food, gluttonous. The nuance can be slightly stronger, implying greed as a character trait.
- Phàm ăn: (adj) Another synonym meaning having a large, coarse appetite.
Synonyms
- Gluttonous: (adj) Excessively greedy for food.
- Voracious: (adj) Wanting or consuming great quantities of food (or something else).
- Greedy: (adj) Having an intense and selfish desire for something, especially food or wealth.
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
(Note: As an adjective, "háu ăn" does not form phrasal verbs. It can be part of descriptive verb phrases.) - Tỏ ra háu ăn: to appear gluttonous/greedy. - Cậu bé tỏ ra háu ăn khi thấy bánh ngọt. (The boy appeared gluttonous when he saw the cake.)
Related Idioms
- Háo thắng: (adj) Eager to win, overly competitive. Shares the root "háu/háo" indicating excessive eagerness.
- Ăn như hổ đói: (idiom) To eat like a starving tiger; a vivid idiom describing someone eating very quickly and ravenously, similar to "háu ăn".