Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Stingy, miserly, and mean-spirited: Describes a person who is not only extremely reluctant to spend money or share resources but also has a nasty, unkind, or malicious disposition. It combines greed with a bad character.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông chủ đó vừa keo bẩn vừa hay chửi nhân viên. (That boss is both stingy and often yells at employees.)
  • Đừng có keo bẩn, chia sẻ chút đồ ăn với mọi người đi. (Don't be so stingy and mean, share some food with everyone.)
  • Tính nó keo bẩn lắm, chẳng bao giờ muốn giúp đỡ ai. (He has a very stingy and mean character; he never wants to help anyone.)

Advanced Usage

• Often used in a disapproving or critical tone to strongly condemn someone's character, implying their stinginess is coupled with pettiness or malice.
• Can describe behavior, not just a person: (a stingy and mean action).

Variants and Related Words

• Keo kiệt (adj): Stingy, miserly. (Less strong in implying "mean-spiritedness" compared to ).
• Bủn xỉn (adj): Stingy, tight-fisted. (Similar to ).
• Hà tiện (adj): Parsimonious, frugal to an excessive degree.

Synonyms

• Stingy: Unwilling to give or spend.
• Miserly: Hating to spend money.
• Mean (in the sense of "ungenerous"): Lacking generosity.
• Tight-fisted: Not willing to spend or give money.

Related Idioms

• Keo như mắm tôm: (Stingy like shrimp paste) - A vivid idiom emphasizing extreme stinginess. ( adds a layer of nastiness to this basic greed).

1. stingy