Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To miss one's footing, to misstep: To place one's foot incorrectly or unsurely while walking or running, often leading to a loss of balance or a stumble.
   • To make a false step: To take a step that fails to find secure or expected support.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Cậu ta bước hụt và ngã. (He missed his footing and fell.)
  • Cẩn thận kẻo bước hụt trên cầu thang. (Be careful not to misstep on the stairs.)
  • Trời tối khiến tôi dễ bước hụt. (The darkness made me prone to missing my step.)

Advanced Usage

• Used figuratively for a mistake or misjudgment: While the primary meaning is physical, it can metaphorically describe a minor error or slip in a process or plan.
  • Kế hoạch của họ bước hụt ngay từ đầu. (Their plan made a false step right from the beginning.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hụt chân: A very close synonym, also meaning to miss one's footing.
  • Anh ấy hụt chân trên mặt đường trơn. (He lost his footing on the slippery road surface.)
• Trượt chân: To slip (one's foot), often implying a more sliding motion on a slippery surface.
• Vấp: To trip over an object.

Synonyms

• Mất thăng bằng: To lose balance.
• Sẩy chân: To have a misstep (slightly more literary).

Related Phrases

• Bước đi không vững: To walk unsteadily.
• Đi chệch hướng: To go off course (literally or figuratively).

Related Idioms

• Bước hụt chân trái: Literally "to miss a step with the left foot"; can imply starting something off on the wrong foot or encountering initial bad luck.
  • Dự án mới của họ hình như bước hụt chân trái. (Their new project seems to have started off on the wrong foot.)

1. Miss one's footing
   • Cậu ta bước hụt và ngã
     He missed his footing and fell