Definition

1. Verb:
   • To reminisce about: To consciously recall and often talk or think about past experiences, typically with a sense of nostalgia or fondness.
   • To evoke / to bring back: To cause a memory, feeling, or image to arise in someone's mind.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bức ảnh cũ gợi lại những kỷ niệm đẹp thời sinh viên. (The old photo reminisces about beautiful memories from college days.)
  • Mùi hương đó gợi lại ký ức tuổi thơ của tôi. (That scent evokes memories of my childhood.)
  • Họ ngồi gợi lại những chuyến phiêu lưu ngày trước. (They sat and reminisced about past adventures.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a deliberate or triggered act of recollection. It can be used transitively, requiring an object (the memory or feeling being recalled).

Variants and Related Words

• Gợi nhớ (v): to remind, to trigger a memory. Often used interchangeably with "gợi lại," though "gợi nhớ" can be slightly more general.
  • Bài hát này gợi nhớ đến quê hương. (This song reminds me of my homeland.)

Synonyms

• Recall: To bring a fact, event, or feeling back into one's mind.
• Evoke: To bring or recall a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind.
• Recollect: To remember something, especially by making an effort.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Gợi lại chuyện cũ: To bring up old stories / to rehash the past. This can have a neutral or slightly negative connotation.
  • Đừng gợi lại chuyện cũ làm gì. (Don't bring up old matters.)

1. Reminisce about