ăn trộm

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The Vietnamese word "ăn trộm" means "to steal" or "to burgle." It refers to the act of taking someone else's property without their permission, usually in a sneaky or secretive way.

Usage Instructions:

• Context: You can use "ăn trộm" when talking about theft or burglary. It is commonly used in everyday conversations, news reports, and stories.
• Form: "ăn" means "to eat" but in this context, it combines with "trộm" (which means "thief") to mean "to steal."

Example:

• Sentence: "Anh ấy đã ăn trộm chiếc xe của tôi."
• Translation: "He stole my car."

Advanced Usage:

In more complex sentences, you might encounter phrases that incorporate "ăn trộm": - "Họ đã âm thầm ăn trộm hàng hóa từ cửa hàng." - Translation: "They secretly stole goods from the store."

Word Variants:

• Kẻ trộm: This means "thief," referring to the person who steals.
• Trộm cắp: This is another term for theft or stealing, often used in legal contexts.

Different Meanings:

While "ăn trộm" primarily means to steal, it can also be used metaphorically in some contexts, such as: - Taking something that is not rightfully yours in a non-literal sense, like ideas or credit.

Synonyms:

• Lấy cắp: This also means "to steal" and can be used interchangeably with "ăn trộm."
• Trộm: A shorter version that means "to steal" as well.

Related Phrases:

• Dùng kẻ trộm trị kẻ trộm: This phrase means "to set a thief to catch a thief," indicating that sometimes you need someone with experience in wrongdoing to catch another wrongdoer.

Academic

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