cụ cựa
Definition
- Verb (informal):
- To fidget; to stir; to move restlessly: Refers to small, often restless or impatient bodily movements, typically while lying down or sitting still. It implies a slight, repeated shifting of position.
- To show signs of activity or life: Can describe the initial, often weak, movements of something coming to life or beginning to stir.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Đứa bé cụ cựa mãi không ngủ. (The child fidgeted and couldn't sleep.)
- Anh ta nằm cụ cựa trên giường vì bồn chồn. (He stirred restlessly in bed because he was anxious.)
- Hạt giống đã bắt đầu cụ cựa trong lòng đất. (The seed has begun to stir within the soil.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is often used in a figurative sense to describe the first, faint signs of development, movement, or change in a situation or idea.
- Ý tưởng mới đang cụ cựa trong đầu anh ấy. (A new idea is stirring in his head.)
Variants and Related Words
- Cựa quậy (v): to wriggle, to squirm. This is a more common and slightly stronger synonym for restless movement.
- Đừng cựa quậy khi đang chụp ảnh. (Don't squirm while we're taking the picture.)
Synonyms
- Fidget: to make small movements, especially of the hands and feet, through nervousness or impatience.
- Stir: to make a slight movement or change position.
- Wriggle: to twist and turn with quick writhing movements.
Related Idioms
- While "cụ cựa" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the concept is related to phrases describing restlessness or the beginning of activity.
- Không yên một chỗ: cannot stay still in one place (to be restless).