Definition

Adjective Describes the action or manner of walking with a limp, where one leg is impaired, causing an uneven, halting gait. It emphasizes the visible difficulty and irregular rhythm of the walk.

Usage

This word is primarily used as an adjective to describe the state or manner of limping. It is often used in the common phrase "đi cà thọt" (to walk with a limp).

Usage Examples

• Adjective (in the phrase "đi cà thọt"):
  • Sau tai nạn, ông ấy phải đi cà thọt mấy tháng liền. (After the accident, he had to walk with a limp for several months.)
  • Chú chó bị thương ở chân nên đi cà thọt. (The dog is injured in its leg, so it is limping.)
  • Nghe tiếng bước chân cà thọt từ xa, tôi biết là bà tôi về. (Hearing the limping footsteps from afar, I knew it was my grandmother coming home.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "cà thọt" can sometimes be used metaphorically to describe something that progresses unevenly, haltingly, or with difficulty, similar to a limp.
  • Dự án tiến hành cà thọt vì thiếu ngân sách. (The project is progressing haltingly due to a lack of budget.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cà nhắc (adj): A near-synonym also meaning "to limp" or "to hobble." It can sometimes imply a slightly more pronounced or awkward limp than "cà thọt."
  • Ông lão chống gậy đi cà nhắc. (The old man walks with a cane, limping.)
• Khập khiễng (adj): Another common synonym for limping. It often describes a more noticeable and unbalanced gait.
  • Anh ấy bước đi khập khiễng vì đau chân. (He walked with a pronounced limp because his leg hurt.)
• Thọt (adj, verb - dialectal): Can be used alone in some dialects to mean "to be lame" or "to limp." "Cà thọt" is a reinforced form.

Synonyms

• Đi khập khiễng: To walk with a limp.
• Đi tập tễnh: To walk falteringly, often due to pain or weakness (can imply a limp).
• Què (adj): Lame, crippled (a stronger, sometimes offensive term for a permanent condition).

Related Phrases

• Chân thọt: A lame leg.
  • Ông ta bị chân thọt từ nhỏ. (He has had a lame leg since childhood.)

adj

1. Limping
   • đi cà thọt
     to walk with a limp, to limp