Definition

1. Adverb:
   • Suddenly and without reason: "bỗng không" describes an action or event that occurs abruptly, unexpectedly, and without any apparent cause or warning.
   • By chance, by accident: It can also indicate that something happens in an unplanned, coincidental manner.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Trời đang nắng bỗng không đổ mưa. (The sun was shining, and then it suddenly started to rain.)
  • Anh ấy bỗng không đứng dậy bỏ đi. (He suddenly stood up and left without a word.)
  • Tôi bỗng không gặp lại cô ấy ở siêu thị. (I happened to meet her again at the supermarket by chance.)

Advanced Usage

• "bỗng không mà": used to emphasize the suddenness or lack of reason, often in a rhetorical or explanatory way.
  • Sao cậu bỗng không mà giận thế? (Why are you so angry all of a sudden [for no reason]?)

Variants and Related Words

• Bỗng (adv): suddenly. Often used interchangeably with "bỗng nhiên".
  • Cô ấy bỗng khóc. (She suddenly cried.)
• Bỗng nhiên (adv): suddenly, all of a sudden. A more common synonym.
  • Bỗng nhiên trời tối sầm lại. (All of a sudden, the sky darkened.)
• Bỗng dưng (adv): suddenly, without reason. Very similar in meaning and usage to "bỗng không".
  • Nó bỗng dưng cười lớn. (He/She burst out laughing for no reason.)

Synonyms

• Đột nhiên (adv): suddenly, abruptly.
• Tình cờ (adv): by chance, accidentally (closer to the "by accident" meaning).
• Vô cớ (adv): without reason, groundlessly.

Related Phrases

• "Tự nhiên": naturally, spontaneously. Can sometimes be used in a similar context for sudden, unexplained actions.
  • Nó tự nhiên im lặng. (He/She suddenly fell silent.)

Related Idioms

• "Bỗng chốc": in an instant, in a flash. Emphasizes the speed of the change.
  • Bỗng chốc, căn nhà biến mất. (In an instant, the house disappeared.)

1. By chance, by accident