Definition

1. Verb:
   • To move backwards: To go in a reverse direction, typically while still facing forward.
   • To postpone / to delay: To reschedule an event or action for a later time.
   • To cook in embers: To roast or bake food (like potatoes or sugarcane) by burying it in hot ashes or embers.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to move backwards):
  • Lái xe cẩn thận và lùi lại. (Drive carefully and reverse.)
  • Anh ấy lùi hai bước vì ngạc nhiên. (He stepped back two steps in surprise.)
• Verb (to postpone):
  • Họ quyết định lùi lịch họp. (They decided to postpone the meeting schedule.)
  • Buổi biểu diễn bị lùi lại đến tháng sau. (The performance was delayed until next month.)
• Verb (to cook in embers):
  • Bọn trẻ thích lùi ngô để ăn. (The children like to roast corn in embers to eat.)

Advanced Usage

• "lùi bước": to step back, to retreat (often figuratively, meaning to concede or yield).
  • Trước sức ép, anh ta buộc phải lùi bước. (Under pressure, he was forced to back down.)
• "lùi xe" / "lùi lại" (when driving): to reverse a vehicle.
  • Bạn cần quan sát kỹ trước khi lùi xe. (You need to observe carefully before reversing the car.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lùi xa (v): to move far back, to recede.
  • Con thuyền dần lùi xa vào màn sương. (The boat gradually receded into the mist.)
• Lui (v - older or poetic form): An alternate, sometimes more literary, spelling for "lùi" meaning to move back or withdraw.

Synonyms

• Move backwards: reverse, back up, retreat.
• Postpone: delay, defer, put off.
• Cook in embers: roast in ashes, bake in embers.

Related Idioms

• Tiến thoái lưỡng nan: To be in a dilemma, caught between advancing and retreating (进退两难).
  • Dự án đó khiến họ rơi vào thế tiến thoái lưỡng nan. (That project put them in a dilemma.)
• Lùi một bước để tiến ba bước: To retreat one step in order to advance three steps; a strategic withdrawal for greater future gain.
  • Đôi khi, lùi một bước để tiến ba bước là chiến lược khôn ngoan. (Sometimes, taking a step back to advance three steps is a wise strategy.)

1. step backwards
   • lùi hai bước rồi tiến lên ba bước
     To Step backwards two steps
2. Turn back
   • đang đi có người gọi lại lùi
     To turn back one one's way when called to put off, postpone
   • Ngày khai giảng lùi lại vài hôm
     The begining of teem was postponed a few days
   • Cuộc hợp lùi lại ngày hôm sau
     The meeting was put off until the next day