Definition

1. Verb:

   • To confuse, to mistake one thing for another: "lẫn" indicates the inability to distinguish correctly, leading to confusion or error in identification.
   • To mix, to blend, to intermingle: "lẫn" means to combine or cause different things to be together, making them difficult to separate.

2. Adverb:

   • Mutually, reciprocally (used with 'nhau'): "lẫn" functions as an adverb paired with "nhau" to express a reciprocal or mutual relationship between subjects.
   • Together with, along with, as well as (used with 'cả'): "lẫn" is used as a correlative conjunction, typically following "cả," to mean "both... and..." or "including."

3. Adjective (Less common):

   • Forgetful, confused (of the mind): "lẫn" can describe a state of mental confusion or memory loss, often associated with old age.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Bà tôi già rồi nên đôi khi hay lẫn. (My grandmother is old, so she sometimes gets confused.)
  • Đừng để lẫn hai loại hạt này với nhau. (Don't mix these two types of seeds together.)
  • Anh ấy lẫn số điện thoại cũ với số mới. (He confused the old phone number with the new one.)

• Adverb (with 'nhau'):

  • Họ thương yêu lẫn nhau. (They love each other.)
  • Các đội nên hợp tác thay vì cạnh tranh lẫn nhau. (The teams should cooperate instead of competing with each other.)

• Adverb/Conjunction (with 'cả'):

  • Cả cha lẫn mẹ tôi đều là bác sĩ. (Both my father and my mother are doctors.)
  • Dự án thất bại, mất cả tiền lẫn thời gian. (The project failed, losing both money and time.)

• Adjective:

  • Ông cụ đã hơi lẫn. (The old man has become somewhat forgetful.)

Advanced Usage

• "trộn lẫn": to mix together, to blend.

  • Trộn lẫn bột mì với đường trước khi thêm trứng. (Mix the flour and sugar together before adding the eggs.)

• "lộn lẫn": to be mixed up, to be in disorder (emphasizes confusion).

  • Các tài liệu bị *lộn lẫn cả lên.* (The documents are all mixed up.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lầm lẫn (n/adj): mistake, error; mistaken.

  • Đó là một sự *lầm lẫn đáng tiếc.* (That was an unfortunate mistake.)

• Lẫn lộn (v): to confuse, to mix up (similar to "lẫn" as a verb).

  • Đừng *lẫn lộn khái niệm này với khái niệm kia.* (Don't confuse this concept with that one.)

Synonyms

• Nhầm (v): to be wrong, to mistake.
  • Tôi nhầm đường. (I took the wrong road.)
• Trộn (v): to mix, to blend.
  • Trộn salad.* (To toss a salad.)
• Cùng nhau (adv): together, mutually.
  • Họ làm việc cùng nhau. (They work together.)

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Lẫn tránh (v): to avoid, to dodge (someone/something).
  • Anh ta cố lẫn tránh câu hỏi khó. (He tried to dodge the difficult question.)

Related Idioms

• Mất cả chì lẫn chài: To lose everything, to suffer a total loss (literally: to lose both the sinker and the net).
  • Đầu tư mạo hiểm, anh ta mất cả chì lẫn chài. (He invested recklessly and lost everything.)

verb

1. to confound; to make a

adj

1. doting; forgetful
   • người già hay lẫn
     old people are sometimes forgetful