Definition

1. Noun:
   • Quicksand: A deep, wet mass of loose sand that yields easily to pressure and can suck in and swallow objects or people on its surface. It is a natural hazard often found near rivers, coasts, or in marshes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy suýt bị chìm xuống cát vần. (He almost sank into the quicksand.)
  • Hãy tránh xa khu vực có cát vần. (Stay away from the area with quicksand.)
  • Cát vần rất nguy hiểm cho những người đi bộ đường dài. (Quicksand is very dangerous for hikers.)

Advanced Usage

• "sa vào cát vần": to get stuck/sink into quicksand (often used metaphorically for a difficult, inescapable situation).
  • Công ty đó đang sa vào cát vần của những khoản nợ. (That company is sinking into the quicksand of debt.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cát lún: A synonym for "cát vần," also meaning quicksand.
• Bãi lầy: Marsh, bog (a related terrain feature where quicksand may form).
• Sụt lún: Subsidence, sinking (describes the action).

Synonyms

• Sable mouvant: (French loanword sometimes used in literature) Quicksand.

Related Phrases

• Vùng đất nguy hiểm: Dangerous terrain/area.
• Bẫy thiên nhiên: Natural trap.

Related Idioms

• Như sa vào cát vần: Like being caught in quicksand (used figuratively to describe a situation that is easy to get into but very hard to get out of, becoming progressively worse).
  • Vụ kiện đó khiến họ như sa vào cát vần. (That lawsuit made them feel as if they were caught in quicksand.)

1. Quicksand