Definition

Verb: 1. To slip away; to steal off; to sneak away: To leave a place or situation quietly and secretly, often to avoid being seen or noticed. 2. To hide; to blend in; to mingle: To conceal oneself by mixing into a group or environment, making it difficult to be detected.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Thằng bé lẩn đi chơi. (The boy slipped away to go play.)
  • Kẻ cắp lẩn vào đám đông. (The thief blended into the crowd.)
  • Nó lẩn ra khỏi phòng khi không ai để ý. (He stole out of the room when no one was paying attention.)
  • Con mèo lẩn vào bụi cây. (The cat hid in the bushes.)

Advanced Usage

• "lẩn tránh": To evade, to dodge, to avoid (a person, responsibility, or issue).
  • Anh ta luôn tìm cách lẩn tránh câu hỏi. (He always tries to dodge the question.)
• "lẩn lút": To act furtively or stealthily; to be elusive.
  • Hắn hành động một cách lẩn lút. (He acts in a sneaky/elusive manner.)
• "lẩn như chạch": (Idiomatic simile) To slip away as easily as a loach (a slippery fish); to be very elusive.
  • Tên tội phạm đó lẩn như chạch, cảnh sát khó bắt lắm. (That criminal is as slippery as an eel; the police find it very hard to catch him.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lẩn trốn (verb): To hide, to go into hiding.
  • Kẻ thù đang lẩn trốn trong rừng. (The enemy is hiding in the forest.)
• Lẩn mất (verb phrase): To disappear, to vanish (by sneaking away).
  • Chỉ một phút lơ là, nó đã lẩn mất. (With just a moment of inattention, he vanished.)

Synonyms

• Trốn (verb): To hide, to flee.
• Lén (verb/adverb): To do something stealthily, secretly.
• Ẩn nấp (verb): To take cover, to conceal oneself.
• Chuồn (verb - colloquial): To sneak off, to scram.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Lẩn vào (verb + preposition): To slip into, to blend into (a place or group).
  • Cô ấy lẩn vào góc phòng tối. (She slipped into the dark corner of the room.)
• Lẩn ra (verb + preposition): To slip out (of a place).
  • Nó lẩn ra cửa sau. (He slipped out the back door.)

Related Idioms

• Lẩn như thạch sùng: (Idiomatic simile) To be as elusive as a gecko; similar in meaning to "lẩn như chạch."
  • Bắt được hắn khó lắm, hắn lẩn như thạch sùng vậy. (It's very hard to catch him; he disappears as quickly as a gecko.)

verb

1. to slip away; to steal off