kiếm một ăn mười
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Earn a small amount but spend a much larger amount
Literally: Earn one, eat ten
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Anh ấy kiếm một ăn mười, nên luôn gặp khó khăn tài chínhHe earns a small amount but spends a lot, so he always faces financial difficulties
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “kiếm một ăn mười” mean?
Earn a small amount but spend a much larger amount Literally: Earn one, eat ten
Is “kiếm một ăn mười” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.