Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pick up (knowledge/skills): To learn something informally and often unintentionally by observing, listening to, or imitating others, without formal instruction or a systematic plan.
   • To learn on the sly / To learn by eavesdropping: To acquire knowledge or a skill discreetly, often by secretly watching or listening to someone else.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cậu bé học lỏm được mấy điệu nhảy từ anh trai. (The boy picked up a few dance moves from his older brother.)
  • Tôi chỉ học lỏm tiếng Anh bằng cách xem phim. (I only picked up English by watching movies.)
  • Nó học lỏm công thức món ăn bằng cách đứng ngoài cửa bếp. (He learned the recipe on the sly by standing outside the kitchen door.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often implies the learning process is casual, opportunistic, and lacks depth or a structured foundation. It can sometimes carry a slight nuance of learning something one wasn't explicitly meant to learn.

Variants and Related Words

• Học mót (v): A near-synonym meaning to glean or pick up bits of knowledge, often in a scattered, unsystematic way.
  • Nó đi học mót vài chiêu võ. (He went to glean a few martial arts moves.)

Synonyms

• Pick up: To acquire a skill or knowledge informally.
• Learn by osmosis: To learn gradually by constant exposure.
• Glean: To gather information bit by bit.

Related Idioms

• Học lỏm được ít nhiều: To have picked up a thing or two.
  • Sau mấy tháng làm việc, anh ấy cũng học lỏm được ít nhiều. (After a few months on the job, he has picked up a thing or two.)

1. Pick up
   • Học lỏm được mấy tiếng nước ngoài
     To pick up some foreign words