nợ miệng

Thân thiện

Một người đàn ông mời bạn mình đi ăn tối để trả nợ miệng.

Definition

1. 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.

Học thuật

1. Bread-and-butter debt, return invitation to dinner
   • Trả nợ miệng
     To return an invitation to dinner