đủ bát ăn
Definition
- Idiom:
- To have enough to eat / to have sufficient food: The literal meaning refers to having enough rice or food to fill one's bowl, indicating basic food security.
- To make ends meet / to have enough to get by: A figurative meaning describing a state of having just enough resources for one's fundamental daily needs, without surplus.
Usage Examples
- Idiom:
- Gia đình tôi lao động vất vả chỉ mong đủ bát ăn. (My family works hard just to have enough to eat.)
- Công việc này lương không cao, nhưng cũng đủ bát ăn. (This job doesn't pay well, but it's enough to get by.)
- Ước mơ của họ rất giản dị: một mái nhà và đủ bát ăn. (Their dream is simple: a roof over their head and enough to eat.)
Advanced Usage
- The idiom often implies a modest, subsistence-level existence. It can be used to express contentment with basic necessities or to highlight a lack of prosperity.
- Anh ấy không mơ giàu sang, chỉ cần đủ bát ăn là mãn nguyện. (He doesn't dream of wealth and luxury; he is content just to have enough to get by.)
Variants and Related Words
- Đủ cơm ăn áo mặc: A related idiom with a similar meaning, extending to having enough food and clothing.
- Làm quanh năm suốt tháng cho đủ cơm ăn áo mặc. (To work all year round just to have enough food and clothing.)
Synonyms
- To have enough to live on: To possess sufficient resources for basic living.
- To make ends meet: To have just enough money to pay for one's basic expenses.
- To be self-sufficient (in basic needs): To be able to provide for one's fundamental requirements.
Related Idioms
- Đủ sống: (to have) enough to live.
- Đồng lương ấy chỉ đủ sống. (That salary is only enough to live on.)
- Chạy ăn từng bữa: to live hand to mouth (a more precarious state than "đủ bát ăn").
- Họ đang trong cảnh chạy ăn từng bữa. (They are living hand to mouth.)