Definition

1. Adverbial phrase:
   • For a short time / for a little while: Refers to a brief, limited, and unspecified duration. It indicates that an action or state lasts only a short period.

Usage Examples

• Adverbial phrase:
  • Anh ấy sẽ đi công tác ít lâu. (He will be on a business trip for a little while.)
  • Hãy nghỉ ngơi ít lâu đi. (Rest for a short while.)
  • Cô ấy dọn đến ở đây được ít lâu. (She moved here not long ago.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used to soften a statement about duration, implying the period is not permanent or overly long. It can refer to the recent past or the immediate future.
  • Tôi mới biết tin này ít lâu. (I have known this news for only a short while.)

Variants and Related Words

• Một thời gian ngắn: A short period of time. This is a more explicit noun phrase with a similar meaning.

  • Chúng tôi sống ở đó một thời gian ngắn. (We lived there for a short period.)

• Ít ngày: A few days. Specifies a duration counted in days.

  • Tôi sẽ vắng nhà ít ngày. (I will be away from home for a few days.)

Synonyms

• For a while: For a period of time.
• Briefly: For a short time.
• For a short period: Lasting a limited time.

Related Idioms

• Chốc lát: A very brief moment, an instant. This implies an even shorter duration than "ít lâu".

  • Hãy đợi tôi chốc lát. (Wait for me just a moment.)

• Một lát: A little while, a moment. Often used interchangeably in casual speech.

  • Ngồi xuống nghỉ một lát đi. (Sit down and rest for a moment.)

1. For a little while
   • Đi vắng ít lâu lại về.
     To be a way only for a little while