keo lận
Definition
- Adjective:
- Stingy and greedy: Describes a person who is excessively unwilling to spend money or share resources, combined with a selfish desire for more.
- Miserly: Characterized by a mean, grasping attitude towards wealth and possessions.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Ông chủ đó rất keo lận, không bao giờ tăng lương cho nhân viên. (That boss is very stingy and greedy; he never gives employees a raise.)
- Đừng có keo lận, hãy chia sẻ đồ ăn với mọi người. (Don't be so miserly; share the food with everyone.)
- Tính keo lận của hắn khiến không ai muốn làm ăn chung. (His stingy and greedy nature makes no one want to do business with him.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is stronger and more negative than just "keo kiệt" (stingy), as it explicitly combines stinginess with greed ("lận" implies deceitful hoarding or covetousness).
Variants and Related Words
Keo kiệt (adj): Stingy, parsimonious. A slightly less intense synonym focusing on frugality.
- Bà ấy keo kiệt đến mức tắt hết đèn để tiết kiệm điện. (She is so stingy she turns off all the lights to save electricity.)
Bủn xỉn (adj): Mean, tight-fisted. Often used interchangeably in the context of money.
- Anh ta bủn xỉn không chịu đóng góp từ thiện. (He is too mean to contribute to charity.)
Synonyms
- Stingy: Unwilling to give or spend.
- Miserly: Hating to spend money.
- Greedy: Having an intense and selfish desire for wealth.
- Tight-fisted: Not generous with money.
Related Idioms
- Keo như mắm tôm: As stingy as shrimp paste (i.e., extremely stingy). This idiom emphasizes extreme unwillingness to spend.
- Ông ấy keo như mắm tôm, chẳng bao giờ mời ai bữa nào. (He is as stingy as shrimp paste; he never treats anyone to a meal.)