Definition

Verb: * To hop: To move by making a series of small, quick jumps on one foot or with both feet together.

Usage

The verb lò kò describes a specific, often playful or unsteady, way of moving by hopping. It is commonly used for children's games or to describe someone moving with difficulty, as if hopping.

• (The child is hopping on one foot in the playground.)
• (Because his foot hurt, he had to hop into the house.)
• (We played the game of hopscotch by hopping through the squares drawn on the sidewalk.)

Advanced Usage

• "lò kò lò khò": This is a common reduplicative form that emphasizes the repeated, clumsy, or laborious action of hopping.
  • Nó lò kò lò khò mãi mới đến được cửa. (He hopped and hobbled for a long time before finally reaching the door.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhảy lò cò: This is a synonymous phrase combining "nhảy" (to jump) and "lò cò" (a variant of "lò kò"). It means the same thing: to hop, especially in the context of the game hopscotch.
  • Trẻ con thích chơi nhảy lò cò. (Children like to play hopscotch.)
• Trò chơi lò cò / Nhảy lò cò: Refers specifically to the game of hopscotch.

Synonyms

• Nhảy tưng tưng: To bounce or hop lightly and repeatedly.
• Nhảy cừu: Literally "to jump like a sheep"; to hop or skip.

Related Idioms

While not a phrasal verb, the action is central to the children's game: * Chơi (trò) lò cò / nhảy lò cò: To play hopscotch. * Các bé gái đang chơi nhảy lò cò ở sân trường. (The little girls are playing hopscotch in the schoolyard.)

verb

1. to hop