gảy

Một nghệ sĩ gảy đàn nguyệt trên sân khấu.

Definitions

1. Transitive Verb:
   • To flick, to flip (with a finger): To propel or move something away using a quick, sharp motion of the fingertip.
   • To turn over, to stir up (e.g., hay, straw): To use a tool or one's hands to lift and mix loose material, often to aerate it.
   • To pluck (a stringed instrument): To cause the strings of a musical instrument to vibrate by pulling and releasing them with a finger or a plectrum, producing sound.

Usage Examples

• To flick/flip:
  • Anh ấy gảy hòn sỏi xuống hồ. (He flicked the pebble into the pond.)
  • Cô bé gảy con kiến ra khỏi tay áo. (The little girl flicked the ant off her sleeve.)
• To turn over/stir up:
  • Người nông dân đang gảy rơm cho khô. (The farmer is turning over the straw to dry it.)
  • Phải gảy đống cỏ khô lên để tìm chìa khóa. (I had to stir up the pile of hay to find the key.)
• To pluck (an instrument):
  • Cô ấy gảy đàn tranh rất điêu luyện. (She plucks the đàn tranh (Vietnamese zither) very skillfully.)
  • Tiếng đàn được gảy lên nghe thật buồn. (The sound of the plucked lute sounds very sad.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đàn gảy tai trâu" (idiom): Literally "to play the lute for a buffalo's ear". It means to present something beautiful or refined (like music, art, knowledge) to someone who lacks the capacity to appreciate or understand it. It is equivalent to the English idiom "pearls before swine" or "casting pearls before swine".
  • Giảng bài cho hắn nghe chẳng khác nào đàn gảy tai trâu. (Explaining the lesson to him is like playing the lute for a buffalo's ear.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gãy (adj/verb): Broken; to break. (Note: This is a different word with a different tone and meaning, but learners often confuse it with "gảy".)
• Búng: To flick, to snap (similar to the first meaning of "gảy", often with more force or a snapping sound).
• Khảy: To pluck, to pick (often used interchangeably with "gảy" for musical instruments, but can imply a lighter, more delicate action).

Synonyms

• Bật: To flick, to spring (for the first meaning).
• Đảo: To turn over, to stir (for the second meaning).
• Búng: To flick, to snap (for the first meaning).
• Khảy: To pluck (for the third meaning).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Gảy đàn: To play/pluck a stringed instrument.
  • Buổi tối, ông thường ngồi gảy đàn bầu. (In the evening, he often sits and plays the monochord.)
• Gảy rơm: To turn over hay/straw.
  • Công việc chính của tôi chiều nay là gảy rơm. (My main job this afternoon is to turn over the straw.)

Related Idioms

• Đàn gảy tai trâu: (As explained in Advanced Usage) Pearls before swine; a waste of effort on an unappreciative audience.