Definition

1. Verb:
   • To stir: To move a tool (like a spoon, chopsticks, or a stick) around in a liquid or loose substance in order to mix it.
   • To make off with / To swipe / To pinch (informal): To steal something, often quickly and by grabbing or scooping it up. This usage is colloquial and implies a theft where items are taken in a hurried, sweeping manner.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to stir):
  • Khoắng cho đường tan trong chén cà phê. (Stir the coffee to dissolve the sugar.)
  • Cô ấy khoắng nồi canh bằng đũa. (She stirred the soup pot with chopsticks.)
• Verb (to make off with):
  • Hôm qua kẻ trộm vào nhà khoắng hết quần áo. (Last night a thief broke into the house and made off with all the clothing.)
  • Ai đã khoắng mất chiếc điện thoại của tôi? (Who swiped my phone?)

Advanced Usage

• The verb "khoắng" often conveys a sense of vigorous, circular, or scooping motion, whether for mixing or for hastily taking things.
• When meaning "to steal," it is more informal and vivid than the standard word It suggests a quick, greedy, and often messy act of theft.

Variants and Related Words

• Khuấy (v): The more common and standard word for "to stir." is generally used for gentle or purposeful mixing, while can imply a more forceful or hasty action.
• Vơ (v): To grab, to scoop up. This word is closely related to the second meaning of and is often used in similar contexts for theft ( means to loot or plunder).

Synonyms

• To stir: To mix, to agitate.
• To make off with: To steal, to pilfer, to snatch, to loot (depending on context).

Related Idioms

• Khoắng tay: This phrase literally means "to stir with one's hand" but is used idiomatically to describe making a quick, sweeping gesture, often to dismiss something or to indicate a mixing action without a tool.
  • Anh ta chỉ khoắng tay một cái là xong. (He just gave it a quick stir/mix with his hand and it was done.)

1. Stir
   • Khoắng cho đường tan trong chén cà phê
     To stir the coffee in the cup to dissolve the sugar
2. Make off with
   • Hôm qua kẻ trộm vào nhà khoắng hết quần áo
     Last night thief broke into my house and make off with all our clothing