kiếm ăn

Thân thiện

Người nông dân kiếm ăn bằng cách trồng lúa trên cánh đồng.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To look for a living, to seek a means of livelihood: Refers to the act of working or finding ways to earn money for basic survival and daily needs.
   • To search for food (said about animals): Describes the instinctive behavior of animals looking for sustenance.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy phải đi kiếm ăn từ sáng sớm. (He has to go out to look for a living from early morning.)
  • Đàn chim đang kiếm ăn trên cánh đồng. (The flock of birds is searching for food in the field.)
  • Trong hoàn cảnh khó khăn, mọi người đều phải lo kiếm ăn. (In difficult circumstances, everyone must worry about earning a living.)

Advanced Usage

• "kiếm ăn lương thiện": to earn an honest living.

  • Dù nghèo nhưng anh ta vẫn kiếm ăn lương thiện. (Although poor, he still earns an honest living.)

• "kiếm ăn qua ngày": to scrape by, to barely make enough to get through the day.

  • Công việc bấp bênh, anh chỉ đủ kiếm ăn qua ngày. (With an unstable job, he only makes enough to scrape by.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kiếm sống (verb): to make a living. A very close synonym, often used interchangeably with "kiếm ăn" in the context of human livelihood.

  • Cô ấy kiếm sống bằng nghề bán hàng rong. (She makes a living as a street vendor.)

• Mưu sinh (verb): to earn a livelihood. A more formal term with a similar meaning.

  • Đó là cách mưu sinh của người dân nơi đây. (That is the way the local people earn their livelihood.)

Synonyms

• Làm ăn: to do business, to work for a living. Often implies a more established or commercial activity.
• Sinh nhai: to make a living (slightly literary or formal).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Đi kiếm ăn: to go out to work/seek a living.
  • Ông bố trụ cột ngày nào cũng đi kiếm ăn. (The breadwinning father goes out to work every day.)

Related Idioms

• "Kiếm ăn xa": to go far away to seek a living.

  • Thanh niên trong làng nhiều người phải kiếm ăn xa. (Many young people in the village have to go far away to seek a living.)

• "Đầu tắt mặt tối kiếm ăn": to work extremely hard from dawn till dusk just to make ends meet.

  • Vợ chồng anh ấy đầu tắt mặt tối kiếm ăn nuôi con. (He and his wife work extremely hard from dawn till dusk to feed their children.)

Học thuật

1. Look for a living, look for a means of livelihood
   • Search for food (nói về động vật)