Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To eke out a living; to subsist; to keep body and soul together: To work hard and earn just enough to survive, to barely meet one's basic needs for food and shelter. This phrase emphasizes a state of precarious subsistence.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Gia đình anh ấy phải làm việc cật lực chỉ để độ khẩu. (His family has to work tirelessly just to eke out a living.)
  • Trong thời kỳ khó khăn, họ sống một cuộc sống chỉ đủ độ khẩu. (During the difficult period, they lived a life of mere subsistence.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is considered somewhat archaic or literary in modern Vietnamese. It is more commonly found in historical contexts, classical literature, or when describing past hardships.
• It often carries a connotation of struggle and scarcity, describing a minimal level of existence.

Variants and Related Words

• Sinh sống qua ngày: To live from hand to mouth.
• Kiếm sống: To earn a living (a more common, neutral term).
• Vật lộn với cuộc sống mưu sinh: To struggle for a livelihood.

Synonyms

• Subsist: To maintain or support oneself, especially at a minimal level.
• Scrape by: To manage to live with barely enough money.
• Make ends meet: To have just enough money to pay for one's basic expenses.

Related Idioms

• Đầu tắt mặt tối: (Lit: head extinguished, face dark) To work from dawn till dusk, extremely busy just to make a living.
  • Họ làm việc đầu tắt mặt tối cũng chỉ đủ độ khẩu. (They work tirelessly from dawn till dusk just to scrape by.)
• Cơm áo gạo tiền: (Lit: rice, clothes, money) Referring to the basic material necessities of life and the struggle to afford them.
  • Lo toan chuyện cơm áo gạo tiền, họ chỉ mong đủ độ khẩu. (Worried about basic necessities, they only hope to make ends meet.)

1. Keep one's soul and body together
   • Làm lụng vất vả chỉ vừa đủ độ khẩu
     To work hard and earn enough to keep one's soul and body together