Definition

1. Intransitive Verb:
   • To run away, to flee: To quickly leave a place or situation, especially because of danger, fear, or to avoid something unpleasant. It implies a sudden, urgent, and often panicked departure.
   • To escape, to take flight: To move rapidly away from a threat or undesirable circumstance.

Usage Examples

• Intransitive Verb:
  • Khi nghe thấy tiếng súng, đám đông hoảng loạn và bỏ chạy. (When they heard the gunshots, the crowd panicked and ran away.)
  • Tên trộm bỏ chạy khi thấy cảnh sát xuất hiện. (The thief fled when he saw the police appear.)
  • Con mèo bỏ chạy vì sợ tiếng động lớn. (The cat ran away because it was scared of the loud noise.)

Advanced Usage

• "bỏ chạy tán loạn": to flee in disarray, to scatter and run away in panic.

  • Quân địch thua trận và bỏ chạy tán loạn. (The enemy troops were defeated and fled in disarray.)

• "bỏ chạy thục mạng" / "bỏ chạy mất dép": to run for one's life, to run desperately (often implying running so fast one loses a shoe).

  • Thấy cháy, mọi người bỏ chạy thục mạng ra khỏi tòa nhà. (Seeing the fire, everyone ran for their lives out of the building.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chạy trốn (v): to escape, to run away from. Often used interchangeably with "bỏ chạy" but can imply a more prolonged effort to hide or evade.

  • Hắn đang cố gắng chạy trốn khỏi quá khứ. (He is trying to escape from his past.)

• Tẩu thoát (v, formal/literary): to make one's escape, to get away. A more formal synonym.

  • Kẻ phạm tội đã tẩu thoát thành công. (The criminal successfully made his escape.)

Synonyms

• Chạy mất (v): to run off, to disappear by running.
• Tháo chạy (v): to bolt, to run away hastily. Often used in military or conflict contexts.
• Chạy thoát (v): to run to safety, to escape successfully.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As "bỏ chạy" is a compound verb in Vietnamese, it functions similarly to a phrasal verb. Its meaning is derived from the combination of "bỏ" (to abandon, to leave) and "chạy" (to run).

• Bỏ của chạy lấy người: (Idiomatic phrase) To abandon one's possessions to save one's own life; to prioritize personal safety over material goods.
  • Trong hỏa hoạn, nguyên tắc là bỏ của chạy lấy người. (In a fire, the principle is to abandon your belongings and save yourself.)

Related Idioms

• Chạy như ma đuổi: To run as if being chased by a ghost; to run extremely fast, usually in terror.

  • Nghe tiếng nổ, nó chạy như ma đuổi. (Hearing the explosion, he ran as if being chased by a ghost.)

• Chạy bán sống bán chết: To run desperately, as if fighting for one's life.

  • Để thoát khỏi trận lũ, dân làng phải chạy bán sống bán chết lên vùng cao. (To escape the flood, the villagers had to run desperately to the highlands.)

1. Run away, run for dear life