Definition

1. Verb:
   • To work, to do business, to earn a living: The primary meaning of "làm ăn" refers to the general activity of working, conducting business, or engaging in productive activities to sustain one's livelihood and generate income.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Gia đình họ làm ăn rất chăm chỉ. (His family works/does business very diligently.)
  • Ông ấy đang làm ăn ở nước ngoài. (He is working/doing business abroad.)
  • Làm ăn lương thiện bao giờ cũng tốt. (Honest work is always good.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a sustained, serious effort toward building a livelihood or business, not just a single job.
  • Cả đời ông bà tôi làm ăn trên mảnh đất này. (My grandparents spent their whole lives working/making a living on this land.)

Variants and Related Words

• Làm ăn buôn bán (v): to engage in trade, to do business (specifically buying and selling).

  • Họ làm ăn buôn bán ở chợ. (They do business/trading at the market.)

• Làm ăn phát đạt (v): to prosper, to do thriving business.

  • Cửa hàng mới của anh ấy làm ăn phát đạt. (His new shop is doing thriving business.)

Synonyms

• To work: to engage in physical or mental activity to achieve a purpose.
• To do business: to engage in commercial transactions.
• To earn a living: to make enough money to support oneself.

Related Idioms

• Làm ăn lớn: to do big business, to operate on a large scale.

  • Công ty của họ đang làm ăn lớn trên toàn cầu. (Their company is doing big business globally.)

• Làm ăn thua lỗ: to operate at a loss, to have a failing business.

  • Năm nay cửa hàng làm ăn thua lỗ. (This year the shop is operating at a loss.)

verb

1. to work, to do, to earn one's living