Definition

1. Verb (Intransitive): To be settled and content in one's work or profession; to find stability and satisfaction in one's career or livelihood. This word is almost exclusively used in the classical four-character idiom "an cư lạc nghiệp" (安居樂業).

Usage

• The word "lạc nghiệp" is a classical Sino-Vietnamese term. In modern Vietnamese, it is very rarely used alone. It is a component of the fixed idiom "an cư lạc nghiệp".
• "An cư lạc nghiệp" describes an ideal state of social stability where people have settled homes (an cư) and are happily established in their professions (lạc nghiệp). It implies peace, prosperity, and contentment.
• When explaining the meaning, you must treat "an cư lạc nghiệp" as a single, inseparable unit of meaning.

Usage Examples

• Using the full idiom "an cư lạc nghiệp":
  • Mong ước của người dân là được sống trong cảnh an cư lạc nghiệp. (The people's wish is to live in a state of "an cư lạc nghiệp" – to live in peace and work contentedly.)
  • Chính sách tốt sẽ giúp nhân dân an cư lạc nghiệp. (Good policies will help the people settle down and prosper in their work.)

Advanced Usage / Classical Context

• Literal Breakdown: The idiom is of Chinese origin (安居樂業).
  • An (安): peaceful, stable.
  • Cư (居): to reside.
  • Lạc (樂): happy, content.
  • Nghiệp (業): profession, livelihood, enterprise.
• This term is often used in formal, literary, or historical contexts to describe a prosperous and harmonious society. It is a common aspiration cited in political or social commentary.

Variants and Related Words

• An cư (安居): To settle down (in a dwelling); to live peacefully. This component can sometimes be used separately.
• Lạc nghiệp as a standalone term is essentially obsolete in modern usage and is only understood through the idiom.

Synonyms

• Ổn định cuộc sống: To stabilize one's life.
• Sống ấm no, hạnh phúc: To live in warmth, plenty, and happiness.
• Định cư và phát triển: To settle and develop.

Related Idioms

• Quốc thái dân an: The country is prosperous and the people are at peace. This is a closely related idiom describing national peace and stability, which is the condition for "an cư lạc nghiệp".
• Phong điều vũ thuận: Favourable winds and timely rain (indicating good conditions for agriculture and, by extension, a peaceful life).

1. (An cư lạc nghiệp) To settle down