Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To earn one's living; to make a living: The primary meaning refers to the act of working or engaging in activities to obtain the money or resources necessary to support one's life and basic needs.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Anh ấy phải làm nhiều việc để kiếm sống. (He has to do many jobs to earn a living.)
  • Cô ấy kiếm sống bằng nghề viết văn tự do. (She makes a living as a freelance writer.)
  • Sau khi mất việc, ông ấy gặp khó khăn trong việc kiếm sống. (After losing his job, he faced difficulties in earning a living.)

Advanced Usage

• "Kiếm sống qua ngày": To scrape by; to barely earn enough to get by day by day.
  • Công việc bấp bênh chỉ giúp họ kiếm sống qua ngày. (The unstable job only allows them to scrape by.)
• "Kiếm sống lương thiện": To earn an honest living.
  • Dù nghèo nhưng anh ấy vẫn kiếm sống lương thiện. (Although poor, he still earns an honest living.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kiếm tiền (verb phrase): To earn money. (Note: This focuses specifically on acquiring money, while "kiếm sống" implies securing the necessities for life.)
• Mưu sinh (verb): To make a living; to seek a livelihood. (This is a more formal or literary synonym.)
• Sinh sống (verb): To live; to reside and make a living. (This combines the ideas of living and sustaining oneself.)

Synonyms

• Làm ăn: To do business; to work for a living.
• Mưu sinh: To seek a livelihood. (As above, more formal.)

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Note: As a verb phrase itself, "kiếm sống" does not combine with other particles to form distinct phrasal verbs in the same way single-word verbs do. Its meaning is contained within the phrase.)

Related Idioms

• "Đầu tắt mặt tối kiếm sống": To work extremely hard from dawn till dusk to make a living; to be constantly busy earning a living.
  • Người nông dân đầu tắt mặt tối kiếm sống trên mảnh ruộng. (The farmer works from dawn till dusk to make a living on his field.)
• "Kiếm sống bằng mồ hôi nước mắt": To earn a living by the sweat of one's brow; to make a living through very hard, laborious work.
  • Họ kiếm sống bằng mồ hôi nước mắt của chính mình. (They earn their living by the sweat of their brow.)

1. Earn one's living