Definition

1. Onomatopoeia / Adjective:
   • Clattering, clacking: The sound produced when small, hard objects (like coins, stones, or keys) repeatedly knock against each other inside a container such as a pocket, box, or bag.
   • Clip-clop: The rhythmic sound made by a horse's hooves hitting a hard road surface.

Usage Examples

• Onomatopoeia / Adjective:
  • Trong túi quần, mấy đồng xu kêu lọc cọc. (In his trouser pocket, the coins made a clattering sound.)
  • Tiếng ngựa chạy lọc cọc trên đường đá. (The horse ran with a clip-clop sound on the stone road.)
  • Nghe tiếng lọc cọc trong hộp, biết ngay là những viên bi. (Hearing the clacking sound in the box, I knew immediately they were marbles.)

Advanced Usage

• Used descriptively to evoke a specific, repetitive auditory imagery, often suggesting a degree of emptiness, hollowness, or a lack of smoothness in the sound or motion.
  • Chiếc xe cũ chạy lọc cọc trên đường mòn. (The old vehicle rattled along the trail.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lọc cọc (as a reduplicative): This is the standard form. Vietnamese often uses reduplicative words for sounds; "lọc cọc" is the primary form for this specific clattering/clacking noise.

Synonyms

• Clatter: A continuous rattling sound as of hard objects falling or striking each other.
• Rattle: A rapid succession of short, sharp, hard sounds.
• Clip-clop: The specific sound of horse hooves.

Related Idioms

• While "lọc cọc" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is commonly used in descriptive phrases to paint a sonic picture.
  • Tiếng gõ cửa lọc cọc (A clacking knock on the door).