Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Stingy, miserly, close-fisted: Describes a person who is unwilling to spend money or use resources, often to an excessive degree.

2. Verb:

   • To stop, to fill, to caulk, to chink: The action of filling a gap, crack, or hole with material to make it airtight, watertight, or to prevent drafts.
   • To apply, to pack (a substance into something): The action of applying or packing a substance (like lacquer, straw) into a joint or mortise to strengthen or seal it.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Ông ấy giàu nhưng rất ken. (He is rich but very stingy.)
  • Đừng có ken quá, hãy rộng rãi một chút. (Don't be so miserly, be a bit more generous.)

• Verb:

  • Ken rơm vào khe vách cho khỏi gió. (Chink the gaps in the wattle wall with straw to keep the wind out.)
  • Ken sơn ta vào mộng giường. (Fill/pack the mortises of the bed with lacquer.)

Advanced Usage

• The adjective form is often used in a critical or disapproving tone to describe someone's character regarding money.
• The verb form is somewhat specialized and is typically used in contexts related to traditional construction, carpentry, or boat maintenance (caulking).

Variants and Related Words

• Ken kiệt (adj): A synonym for the adjective form, meaning extremely stingy or parsimonious.
• Bủn xỉn (adj): A common synonym for "ken," meaning stingy or mean.
• Keo kiệt (adj): Another common synonym for "ken," meaning miserly or tight-fisted.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Bủn xỉn, keo kiệt, hà tiện, chắt bóp.
• Verb: Trám, bịt, lấp, nhồi, trét.

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Tính ken: A stingy/miserly nature.
  • Anh ta có tính ken khó chịu. (He has an unpleasant stingy nature.)
• Ken chặt: To fill/caulk tightly.
  • Phải ken chặt các mối nối. (The joints must be caulked tightly.)

Notes on Meaning

• The word has two distinct and common meanings: one describing a personality trait (adjective) and one describing a physical action (verb). They are not directly related semantically.
• The verb usage is less common in modern everyday language but remains understood, especially in specific technical or traditional contexts.

1. Stingy, close-fisted
   • Giàu mà ken
     To be close -fisted though rich
2. Stop, fill, caulk
   • Ken rơm vào khe vách cho khỏi gió
     To stop the gap in the daub and wattle in protection against winds
   • Ken sơn ta vào mộng giường
     To fill mortises of a bed with lacquer