Definition

1. Verb:
   • To walk with one's head sunk between one's shoulders: Describes a specific way of walking where a person's posture is hunched, with the head lowered and pulled in, often giving an impression of caution, weariness, or stealth.
   • To walk with measured, careful steps: To walk slowly and deliberately, counting one's steps, often implying careful or hesitant movement.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy cò rò bước vào phòng, có vẻ rất mệt mỏi. (He walked with his head sunk between his shoulders into the room, looking very tired.)
  • Đứa trẻ cò rò trên sàn nhà lạnh. (The child walked with careful, measured steps on the cold floor.)
  • Kẻ trộm cò rò trong bóng tối để không ai phát hiện. (The thief moved stealthily with a hunched posture in the darkness so no one would notice.)

Advanced Usage

• "cò rò cò rò": A reduplicated form used to emphasize the slow, careful, and perhaps repetitive nature of the movement.
  • Bà cụ cò rò cò rò băng qua đường. (The old woman inched her way slowly and carefully across the street.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lò rò (verb): A variant with a very similar meaning, often used interchangeably to describe slow, hesitant, or stealthy walking.
  • Nó lò rò đi sau lưng mọi người. (He crept along behind everyone.)
• Rón rén (verb): To tiptoe, to walk stealthily and quietly. This is a close synonym but focuses more on quietness than on the hunched posture.
• Lủi thủi (verb/adjective): To walk alone, solitary; often implies loneliness or dejection in one's gait, which can overlap with the slow, careful movement of "cò rò".

Synonyms

• Đi lom khom: To walk stooped over, bent at the waist. This emphasizes a bent back more than a sunk head.
• Đi thận trọng: To walk cautiously/carefully. This describes the manner but not the specific hunched posture.
• Lén lút: To sneak, to move stealthily. Focuses on the secretive intent.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Note: "Cò rò" is a descriptive verb and does not commonly form phrasal verbs with other particles in the way English verbs do. Its meaning is contained within the single word.)

Related Idioms

• Đi cò rò như gà mắc tóc: To walk hunched over like a chicken with tangled feathers. This idiom vividly compares the hesitant, awkward walk to that of a distressed chicken.
  • Sau trận ốm, ông ấy đi cò rò như gà mắc tóc. (After his illness, he walked all hunched over like a chicken with tangled feathers.)

1. To walk with one's head sunk between one's shoulders