lánh mình
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To hide oneself; to seclude oneself: To deliberately remove oneself from sight or society, often for safety, privacy, or to avoid something.
- To take refuge; to shelter oneself: To go to a place for protection from danger, trouble, or unwanted attention.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Ông ấy lánh mình trong rừng sâu để tránh chiến tranh. (He hid himself in the deep forest to avoid the war.)
- Sau scandal, cô ấy lánh mình ở một ngôi làng nhỏ. (After the scandal, she secluded herself in a small village.)
- Chim non lánh mình dưới cánh mẹ. (The baby bird sheltered itself under its mother's wing.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often implies a deliberate, sometimes prolonged, act of withdrawal for a specific purpose (safety, peace, meditation, evasion). It carries a more formal or literary tone than simpler verbs like "trốn" (to hide).
Variants and Related Words
- Lánh nạn (verb phrase): to take refuge from a disaster or persecution.
- Hàng nghìn người đã phải lánh nạn sang nước láng giềng. (Thousands of people had to take refuge in a neighboring country.)
- Ẩn mình (verb phrase): to conceal oneself; to live in hiding. This is a close synonym but can emphasize concealment more than physical relocation.
- Vị đạo sĩ ẩn mình trong núi. (The sage concealed himself in the mountains.)
Synonyms
- To hide oneself: To put or keep out of sight.
- To seclude oneself: To keep oneself apart from others.
- To take refuge: To seek safety or shelter.
Related Idioms
- Lánh mặt: To avoid meeting someone, to stay away from someone's presence.
- Anh ta cứ lánh mặt tôi từ sau vụ cãi nhau. (He has been avoiding me since the argument.)
- Lánh đục tìm trong: Literally "to avoid the murky and seek the clear"; to leave a corrupt or troubled environment for a purer, more peaceful one.
- Quyết định về quê của ông ấy là để lánh đục tìm trong. (His decision to return to his hometown was to leave the corrupt city and seek a pure life.)