Tiếng Việt · Word Attested

ỷ lại

[ʔi˧˩ laːj˧˨ʔ] 🎙 Say it

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(verb) to be overreliant on something

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

phụ thuộc quá nhiều vào điều gì đó

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Verb⚠ Register: derogatoryConnotation: offensive or derogatory to many

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

quen thói ỷ lạito be too used to being reliant on something

Vả lại, mẹ thường bảo chúng tôi rằng: “[…] Con cái mà cứ nhong nhóng ăn bám vào bố mẹ thì chỉ sinh ra tính ỷ lại, xấu lắm, rồi ra đời không làm nên trò trống gì đâu.”Besides, my mother used to tell her children, “[…] Children who are a burden to their parents develop parasitic habits and will grow up into ne’er-do-wells.”

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗

Common questions

What does “ỷ lại” mean?

(verb) to be overreliant on something

Is “ỷ lại” formal or informal?

ỷ lại is generally derogatory; connotation: offensive or derogatory to many.

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