Definition

1. Intransitive Verb:

   • To slip away; to sneak away; to move away discreetly: To leave a place or situation quietly and often with the intention of avoiding someone or something.
   • To avoid; to dodge (a topic, person, or responsibility): To intentionally steer clear of or divert attention from something.

2. Transitive Verb (used with "nói"):

   • To talk evasively; to change the subject; to turn the conversation: To deliberately avoid addressing a specific topic by shifting the discussion to something else.

Usage Examples

• Intransitive Verb:

  • Anh ấy lảng ra phía sau vườn để tránh gặp khách. (He slipped away to the back of the garden to avoid meeting the guests.)
  • Thấy cô giáo đến, đám trẻ lảng đi hết. (Seeing the teacher coming, the children all sneaked away.)
  • Đừng có lảng mỗi khi có việc khó! (Don't sneak away every time there's a difficult task!)

• Transitive Verb (with "nói"):

  • Khi tôi hỏi về khoản nợ, anh ta liền nói lảng sang chuyện thời tiết. (When I asked about the debt, he immediately changed the subject to the weather.)
  • Cô ấy cứ nói lảng, không bao giờ chịu trả lời thẳng câu hỏi. (She keeps talking evasively, never willing to answer questions directly.)

Advanced Usage

• "lảng đi": to slip away; to move away. This is a common collocation emphasizing the act of leaving.

  • Nó lảng đi từ lúc nào không ai hay. (He slipped away at some point without anyone noticing.)

• "lảng tránh": to avoid; to shirk; to evade. This compound form combines "lảng" with "tránh" (to avoid) for stronger emphasis on avoidance.

  • Anh ta có thói quen lảng tránh trách nhiệm. (He has a habit of shirking responsibility.)

• "lảng vảng": to loiter; to hang around aimlessly. This is a reduplicative form (lặp láy) with a distinct meaning.

  • Có mấy thanh niên lảng vảng trước cổng trường. (There are some young men loitering in front of the school gate.)

Variants and Related Words

• lang lảng (reduplicative form): to discreetly turn away; to wander aimlessly. This form can imply a gentle, drifting movement or a discreet avoidance.

  • Ánh mắt cô ấy lang lảng nhìn ra cửa sổ. (Her gaze drifted discreetly toward the window.)

• lảng tránh (compound verb): to evade; to avoid. (See Advanced Usage).

• lảng vảng (reduplicative form): to loiter. (See Advanced Usage).

Synonyms

• Tránh (verb): to avoid.
• Lẩn (verb): to hide; to slip away.
• Thoái thác (verb): to shirk; to evade (often responsibility).
• Nói quanh (verb phrase): to beat around the bush (specifically for speech).

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Nói lảng (verb phrase): This is the primary phrasal verb form, meaning to speak evasively or to change the subject.

  • Mỗi lần nhắc đến chuyện cưới xin là bà ấy lại nói lảng. (Every time the topic of marriage is mentioned, she changes the subject.)

• Lảng ra lảng vào: to wander in and out; to be inconstant in presence.

  • Cậu bé cứ lảng ra lảng vào trong bếp, chắc là đói bụng. (The boy keeps wandering in and out of the kitchen; he must be hungry.)

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary meanings are related to avoidance (physical or conversational).
• The dialectal meaning of "vô duyên, vớ vẩn" (tactless, silly) is less common in standard modern usage and is often considered colloquial or regional.
• The reduplicative forms (lang lảng, lảng vảng) have developed their own nuanced meanings related to movement.

verb

1. to slip away; to sneak away
   • nói lảng
     to turn conversation