ăn báo
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To live off others / to sponge off others: To depend on someone else for financial support or material benefits without contributing anything useful in return, often implying laziness or exploitation.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Anh ta cả ngày chỉ biết ăn báo gia đình vợ. (He just spends all day sponging off his wife's family.)
- Đã lớn rồi, đừng có ăn báo bố mẹ mãi thế. (You're grown up now; don't keep living off your parents like that.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often carries a strong negative connotation of being a burden and lacking personal responsibility or ambition.
Variants and Related Words
- Ăn bám (v): to be a parasite, to live off someone. This is a very close synonym.
- Cô ấy không chịu đi làm, chỉ ăn bám anh trai. (She refuses to work and just lives off her brother.)
Synonyms
- To mooch: to get things from others without paying or reciprocating.
- To freeload: to take advantage of others' generosity without offering anything in return.
- To be a parasite: to live off and benefit at the expense of another.
Related Idioms
- Ăn không ngồi rồi: to be idle and do nothing; to live in idleness. This idiom shares the concept of being unproductive.
- Công việc đầy ra đấy, không thể ăn không ngồi rồi được. (There's plenty of work; you can't just sit around doing nothing.)