Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To stand on ceremony; to be overly formal or polite, especially by refusing or hesitating to accept hospitality (like food, drink) when offered: The phrase describes the act of being a guest who is excessively polite, often refusing offers of food or drink out of a sense of formality or not wanting to impose, even when such refusal is not expected by the host.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Chỗ họ hàng gần, xin đừng làm khách. (We are close relatives, please don't stand on ceremony.)
  • Cứ tự nhiên đi, đừng làm khách! (Please make yourself at home, don't be so formal!)
  • Anh ấy cứ làm khách mãi, không chịu ăn gì cả. (He kept refusing politely and wouldn't eat anything.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a gentle criticism or encouragement from the host, urging the guest to relax, be informal, and accept hospitality freely. It highlights a cultural expectation of warmth and familiarity in certain relationships.
• It can describe behavior perceived as unnecessarily distant or reserved in a social context where closeness is assumed or desired.

Variants and Related Words

• Khách sáo (adj): Overly polite, ceremonious, insincerely formal.
  • Đừng khách sáo với tôi. (Don't be so ceremoniously polite with me.)
• Làm khách sáo: A slightly more formal or literary variant with the same core meaning as "làm khách".

Synonyms

• Giữ ý: To be reserved, to hold back out of politeness or consideration.
• Giữ kẽ: To keep a distance, to maintain formality.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Làm bộ làm tịch: To put on airs, to act affectedly (can overlap in contexts of false formality).
• Làm cao: To act superior, to put on airs (implies arrogance, whereas "làm khách" implies excessive politeness).

Related Idioms

• While "làm khách" itself is a set phrase, it is central to the social idiom of urging informality: (Feel at home here, don't stand on ceremony).

1. Stand on ceremony
   • Chỗ họ hàng gần, xin đừng làm khách
     Between close relations please don't stand on ceremony