Definition

1. Verb:

   • To hover about; to linger around aimlessly: To move or remain in a small, restricted area without purpose or direction, often in a restless manner.
   • To be stuck in a loop; to go around in circles: To be trapped in a repetitive cycle of thought, action, or situation without finding a way out or making progress.

2. Adjective (describing a situation or thought pattern):

   • Vicious; circular; repetitive: Describing a cycle, argument, or line of thinking that is unproductive and leads back to its starting point without resolution.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Con chó luẩn quẩn trong bếp, chờ đợi thức ăn. (The dog hovered about in the kitchen, waiting for food.)
  • Anh ấy luẩn quẩn với ý nghĩ đó cả ngày. (He was stuck in a loop with that thought all day.)
  • Họ luẩn quẩn trong khu rừng mà không tìm được lối ra. (They wandered around in circles in the forest and couldn't find the way out.)

• Adjective:

  • Đó là một lập luận luẩn quẩn. (That is a circular argument.)
  • Chúng tôi đang ở trong một vòng luẩn quẩn của vấn đề nợ nần. (We are in a vicious cycle of debt.)

Advanced Usage

• "vòng luẩn quẩn": a vicious circle; a repetitive, inescapable cycle.
  • Thất nghiệp dẫn đến nghèo đói và tạo thành một vòng luẩn quẩn. (Unemployment leads to poverty and creates a vicious circle.)
• "nghĩ luẩn quẩn" / "suy nghĩ luẩn quẩn": to have obsessive, circular thoughts; to overthink in an unproductive way.
  • Cô ấy không thể ngừng những suy nghĩ luẩn quẩn về lỗi lầm của mình. (She couldn't stop the obsessive thoughts about her mistake.)

Variants and Related Words

• Loanh quanh (verb): To wander around, to hang around a place. It is similar but often implies a slightly broader or more physical wandering, while "luẩn quẩn" emphasizes a tighter, more repetitive, or mentally trapped state.

Synonyms

• To hover / to linger
• To go around in circles
• Vicious (cycle)
• Circular (logic)
• Repetitive

Related Idioms

• Nói luẩn quẩn: To beat around the bush; to speak in a roundabout way without getting to the point.
  • Đừng nói luẩn quẩn nữa, hãy đi thẳng vào vấn đề. (Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.)

verb

1. to dangle about; to hover about
   • luẩn quẩn bên mình người nào
     to hover about someone