ky cóp
Definition
- Verb:
- To scrimp and save: To accumulate money or resources through extreme frugality and careful saving of very small amounts over a long period.
- To pinch pennies / to hoard: To be excessively thrifty, often by denying oneself basic comforts, in order to gather and set aside resources.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Cả đời bà ấy ky cóp để mua căn nhà nhỏ. (She scrimped and saved her whole life to buy a small house.)
- Anh ta ky cóp từng đồng để dành cho tương lai. (He pinches every penny to save for the future.)
- Họ sống rất ky cóp, không dám tiêu xài gì. (They live very frugally, not daring to spend on anything.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a connotation of hardship, sacrifice, and a long, patient struggle to accumulate something from almost nothing. It implies the action is done out of necessity.
Variants and Related Words
- Dành dụm (v): to save up, to put aside. (Less intense than ).
- Chắt bóp (v): to be extremely tight-fisted, to squeeze out savings. (Similar in meaning, often used in conjunction with ).
Synonyms
- To scrimp: To be very economical.
- To skimp: To use or provide a meager amount.
- To hoard: To accumulate and store away.
Related Idioms
- Ky cóp cho cọp ăn: (To scrimp and save only for the tiger to eat it). An idiom meaning to painstakingly save something, only for it to be taken or used by someone else.
- Ông ấy ky cóp cả đời, cuối cùng ky cóp cho cọp ăn khi công ty con lãng phí hết. (He scrimped and saved his whole life, only for the tiger to eat it when his child's company wasted it all.)