Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Stingy; miserly: "keo kiệt" describes a person who is extremely unwilling to spend money or use resources, even when necessary or reasonable. It implies a level of greed and an excessive focus on hoarding wealth.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông ấy quá keo kiệt, không bao giờ muốn đãi bạn bè một bữa ăn. (He is too stingy, never wanting to treat his friends to a meal.)
  • Tính keo kiệt của bà ta khiến mọi người xa lánh. (Her miserly nature makes everyone avoid her.)
  • Đừng có keo kiệt với chính bản thân mình. (Don't be stingy with yourself.)

Advanced Usage

• "keo kiệt bủn xỉn": This is a reinforcing phrase combining "keo kiệt" with a near-synonym ("bủn xỉn"), emphasizing extreme stinginess.
  • Kẻ keo kiệt bủn xỉn ấy chẳng bao giờ làm từ thiện. (That extremely stingy person never does charity.)
• "keo kiệt đến mức...": stingy to the point that... Used to introduce a consequence or specific example of the stinginess.
  • Anh ta keo kiệt đến mức tái sử dụng cả túi trà. (He is so stingy that he reuses tea bags.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hà tiện (adj): Thrifty, frugal. This word can be neutral or slightly negative but is generally less harsh than "keo kiệt". It emphasizes careful spending.
• Bủn xỉn (adj): Stingy, mean. Very similar in meaning to "keo kiệt", often used interchangeably or together for emphasis.
• Kẹt xỉ (adj, informal): Stingy, tight-fisted. A more colloquial synonym.

Synonyms

• Stingy: Unwilling to give or spend; not generous.
• Miserly: Relating to or characteristic of a miser; hoarding wealth.
• Parsimonious: Unwilling to spend money or use resources; frugal to an excessive degree (more formal).
• Tight-fisted: Not willing to spend or give much money; stingy.

Antonyms

• Hào phóng (adj): Generous, magnanimous.
• Rộng rãi (adj): Generous, liberal (with money or resources).
• Phóng khoáng (adj): Open-handed, liberal.

Related Idioms

• "Keo như mắm tôm": As stingy as shrimp paste (a very salty, concentrated condiment). This idiom vividly compares a person's stinginess to something very condensed and not easily shared.
  • Đừng mong anh ta mời đi ăn, anh ta keo như mắm tôm ấy mà. (Don't expect him to treat you to a meal; he's as stingy as shrimp paste.)
• "Giàu nhưng keo": Rich but stingy. Highlights the contradiction between having wealth and being unwilling to share it.
  • Ông chủ giàu nhưng keo nên nhân viên chẳng được thưởng gì. (The boss is rich but stingy, so the employees get no bonuses.)

adj

1. stingy; miserly