mần ăn

Ông ấy mần ăn ở thành phố.

Definition

1. Verb (colloquial, dialectal):
   • To work (for a living): The primary meaning of "mần ăn" is to engage in labor, business, or any activity to earn a livelihood and support oneself. It emphasizes the practical, everyday effort of making a living, often in a humble or informal context.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Ông ấy mần ăn ở thành phố. (He works for a living in the city.)
  • Cả gia đình cùng mần ăn trên mảnh ruộng này. (The whole family works for a living on this field.)
  • Mần ăn lương thiện mới bền vững. (Making an honest living is the only sustainable way.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "mần ăn" often carries a connotation of hard work, struggle, and the hustle of daily life. It is rarely used for professional careers in formal settings but rather for trades, farming, small business, or manual labor.
• It can imply a broader sense of managing one's livelihood and economic affairs, not just the act of working a single job.

Variants and Related Words

• Làm ăn (v): This is the standard, more formal equivalent of "mần ăn," meaning to do business or to work for a living.
  • Họ làm ăn rất phát đạt. (Their business is very prosperous.)

Synonyms

• To work: To engage in physical or mental activity to achieve a result, especially to earn income.
• To make a living: To earn the money one needs to live.
• To labor: To work hard, especially at physical tasks.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Mần ăn chân chính: To earn an honest living.

  • Dù nghèo nhưng phải mần ăn chân chính. (Even if poor, one must earn an honest living.)

• Mần ăn thua lỗ: To operate a business at a loss / to have one's livelihood efforts fail.

  • Năm nay mần ăn thua lỗ. (This year, the business is operating at a loss.)