bắt lời
Definition
- Verb:
- To respond to someone's conversational overture or advance: To acknowledge and engage with someone who is initiating a conversation or making a friendly approach, especially when the initiator is showing interest.
- To pick up on/take up what someone has said: To continue a conversation by directly engaging with the topic or remark another person has introduced.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Anh ấy cố gắng bắt chuyện, nhưng cô ấy không bắt lời. (He tried to start a conversation, but she did not respond to his advance.)
- Khi đồng nghiệp chia sẻ ý tưởng, sếp lập tức bắt lời và thảo luận thêm. (When a colleague shared an idea, the boss immediately picked up on it and discussed it further.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often implies a social or conversational dynamic where one person's attempt to communicate is met with either engagement or disregard. It is frequently used in contexts describing flirtation, networking, or casual social interaction.
Variants and Related Words
- Bắt chuyện (v): to initiate a conversation, to strike up a chat.
- Anh ấy ngồi xuống và bắt chuyện với tôi. (He sat down and started a conversation with me.)
Synonyms
- To engage: to participate or become involved in.
- To acknowledge (someone's advance): to recognize and respond to someone's attempt to communicate.
- To reciprocate (conversationally): to respond in a similar way to someone's social or verbal approach.
Related Idioms
- Lờ đi như không bắt lời: to ignore as if not hearing or acknowledging.
- Cô ấy giả vờ không nghe thấy, lờ đi như không bắt lời. (She pretended not to hear, ignoring him as if not acknowledging his words.)