Definition

1. Verb:
   • To steal: To take someone else's property secretly and without permission, typically with the intent to keep it permanently.
   • To burgle / To burglarize: To illegally enter a building (especially a home) with the intent to commit theft, usually when the occupants are absent or at night.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Nó bị bắt vì ăn trộm tiền trong túi xách. (He was caught stealing money from a purse.)
  • Căn hộ của họ bị ăn trộm vào ban đêm khi họ đang đi du lịch. (Their apartment was burgled at night while they were traveling.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "ăn trộm" strongly implies a furtive, sneaky action, often under the cover of darkness or when the owner is not present. It is less formal than "trộm cắp" (theft) and carries a colloquial tone.
• It can be used to describe the act itself or to label a person who commits such acts (e.g., - the thief).

Variants and Related Words

• Ăn cắp (v): To steal, to pilfer. Often used interchangeably with "ăn trộm," but can sometimes imply stealing smaller items or be considered slightly less severe.
  • Đứa trẻ ăn cắp kẹo trong cửa hàng. (The child stole candy from the store.)
• Trộm (n/v): As a noun: a thief. As a verb: to steal (often used in compound words or formal contexts).
• Bẻ khóa ăn trộm (v phrase): To break in and steal; to burglarize by picking a lock.

Synonyms

• To steal: The general term for taking something illegally.
• To burgle / To burglarize: Specifically to steal from a building after illegal entry.
• To pilfer: To steal things of small value, especially in small quantities.

Related Idioms

• Dùng kẻ ăn trộm trị kẻ ăn trộm: Literally "to use a thief to catch a thief." Equivalent to the English idiom "to set a thief to catch a thief," meaning to use someone's specialized bad experience or knowledge to solve a related problem.
  • Công ty thuê một cựu hacker để bảo vệ hệ thống, đúng là dùng kẻ ăn trộm trị kẻ ăn trộm. (The company hired a former hacker to protect their system, truly setting a thief to catch a thief.)

1. To steal, to burgle
   • dùng kẻ trộm trị kẻ trộm, lấy độc trị độc
     to set a thief to catch a thief