nợ miệng
Definition
- Noun:
- Bread-and-butter debt: A social obligation to return a favor, specifically an invitation to a meal, after having been treated to one. It refers to the informal "debt" incurred when someone hosts you for food or drink.
- Return invitation debt: The understanding that one should reciprocate hospitality, especially by inviting someone for a meal after they have done so for you.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Tôi ăn tối ở nhà anh ấy tuần trước, giờ tôi có nợ miệng với anh ấy. (I had dinner at his house last week, so now I have a bread-and-butter debt to him.)
- Cô ấy luôn nhớ nợ miệng và sẽ mời lại mọi người. (She always remembers her return invitation debt and will invite everyone back.)
Advanced Usage
- The concept is deeply rooted in Vietnamese social etiquette, emphasizing reciprocity and maintaining balanced relationships. It is an informal but culturally significant obligation.
Variants and Related Words
- Trả nợ miệng (verb phrase): To repay a bread-and-butter debt; to return an invitation to a meal.
- Cuối tuần này chúng tôi sẽ trả nợ miệng bằng một bữa tiệc. (This weekend we will return the dinner invitation with a party.)
Synonyms
- Social debt: An obligation arising from social interaction.
- Reciprocity obligation: The duty to return a favor.
Related Idioms
- While "nợ miệng" itself is often used in a fixed phrase, it encapsulates the idiom of a "debt of the mouth," highlighting that the debt is created through eating and drinking together.
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Bread-and-butter debt, return invitation to dinner
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Trả nợ miệngTo return an invitation to dinner
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Từ gần giống
Từ chứa "nợ miệng"
Proverbs and Idioms
