hút máu
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To suck blood: The literal meaning refers to the action of drawing blood out, typically by a creature like a mosquito, leech, or vampire.
- To bleed dry / to bleed white: The primary figurative meaning is to exploit someone cruelly and relentlessly, extracting their money, resources, or vitality until they are exhausted or impoverished.
Usage Examples
- Literal:
- Muỗi đốt để hút máu. (Mosquitoes bite to suck blood.)
- Con đỉa đang hút máu ở chân anh ta. (The leech is sucking blood from his leg.)
- Figurative (Exploitation):
- Bọn cho vay nặng lãi đó thực sự hút máu người nghèo. (Those usurers truly bleed the poor dry.)
- Chế độ phong kiến hút máu nông dân. (The feudal regime bled the peasants white.)
Advanced Usage
- Used as a modifier in compound nouns to describe a parasitic or exploitative entity.
- bọn hút máu: the blood-suckers (a derogatory term for cruel exploiters).
- Bọn hút máu ấy không có lương tâm. (Those blood-suckers have no conscience.)
Variants and Related Words
- Hút (v): to suck, to inhale (the core verb meaning "to draw in").
- Bóc lột (v): to exploit. This is a more general synonym for the figurative sense.
- Bòn rút (v): to slowly drain or pilfer resources, often in a sneaky, continuous manner.
Synonyms
- Exploit: to use someone unfairly for one's own advantage.
- Prey on: to take advantage of or exploit someone vulnerable.
- Drain: to deplete resources completely.
- Parasitize: to live off and harm a host, similar to the literal meaning.
Related Idioms
- Hút máu hút mủ: (lit. to suck blood and suck pus). An intensified version meaning to exploit in an extremely cruel and thorough manner, leaving the victim with nothing.
- Chúng hút máu hút mủ công nhân bằng những hợp đồng bất công. (They bled the workers dry through unfair contracts.)
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Bleed white, be a blood-sucker tọ