cuốn chiếu
Definition
- Noun:
- Millipede: A small, elongated arthropod with a cylindrical, segmented body and many legs. The name "cuốn chiếu" literally describes its defensive behavior of coiling into a tight spiral when threatened, resembling a rolled-up straw mat ("chiếu").
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong vườn, tôi thấy một con cuốn chiếu đang bò trên đất. (In the garden, I saw a millipede crawling on the ground.)
- Khi bị chạm vào, con cuốn chiếu lập tức cuộn tròn người lại. (When touched, the millipede immediately curled its body into a coil.)
Advanced Usage
- "cuốn tròn như cuốn chiếu": To coil/roll up tightly like a millipede. This phrase is used metaphorically to describe something or someone curling up into a tight ball.
- Đứa bé lạnh đến nỗi cuốn tròn như cuốn chiếu trong chăn. (The child was so cold that he curled up tightly like a millipede in the blanket.)
Variants and Related Words
- Con cuốn chiếu: The most common form, using the classifier "con" for animals.
- Rết (Centipede): A different, often faster-moving arthropod with one pair of legs per body segment, which is sometimes confused with "cuốn chiếu".
Synonyms
- Con rết: While "rết" specifically means centipede, it is sometimes mistakenly used by learners for millipede. They are different creatures.
- Con bọ nghìn chân: A descriptive synonym meaning "thousand-legged bug".
Related Phrases
- Cuộn mình: To curl/coil oneself. This verb describes the primary action of the "cuốn chiếu".
- Con ốc sên cuộn mình vào trong vỏ. (The snail curled itself into its shell.)
Related Idioms
- Chậm như cuốn chiếu: As slow as a millipede. This idiom is used to describe a very slow pace or progress.
- Dự án này tiến triển chậm như cuốn chiếu. (This project is progressing as slowly as a millipede.)