con én đưa thoi
Definition
- Noun Phrase:
- The swift flying of swallows: A descriptive phrase depicting the swift, back-and-forth flight of swallows, likened to the movement of a shuttle on a loom.
- A metaphor for the rapid passage of time: A poetic idiom used to express how quickly time passes, often specifically referring to the fleeting nature of spring, as swallows are migratory birds associated with this season.
Usage Examples
- Noun Phrase:
- Trên bầu trời mùa xuân, từng đàn con én đưa thoi. (In the spring sky, flocks of swallows fly swiftly like shuttles.)
- Thời gian trôi qua tựa con én đưa thoi. (Time passes swiftly like the flight of a swallow.)
Advanced Usage
- This phrase is almost exclusively used in literary, poetic, or reflective contexts to create vivid imagery. It is a fixed idiom and is not used in literal, everyday descriptions of birds.
Variants and Related Words
- Én (n): swallow (the bird).
- Thoi (n): shuttle (a tool in weaving).
Synonyms
- Time flies: A common English idiom expressing the same core idea of time passing quickly.
- Fleeting time: A poetic phrase describing transient time.
Related Idioms
- Thời gian thấm thoắt thoi đưa: Time slips away swiftly like a shuttle. This is a direct, proverbial expansion of the same metaphor.
- Xuân đi xuân lại: Spring goes and spring returns. This related phrase highlights cyclical time, whereas "con én đưa thoi" emphasizes speed and linear passage.