lê lết
Definition
- Verb:
- To drag oneself along; to shuffle: To move slowly and with great difficulty, often without lifting one's feet completely off the ground, due to exhaustion, weakness, or injury.
- To linger on; to drag on: To persist in a prolonged, wearying, or undignified state, often beyond a desired or appropriate endpoint.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Người bị thương lê lết vào trạm xá. (The injured person dragged himself into the infirmary.)
- Công việc ấy lê lết cả tháng mà chưa xong. (That work has been dragging on for a whole month and is still not finished.)
- Đôi giày rách khiến cô ấy phải lê lết trên đường. (The torn shoes made her shuffle along the road.)
Advanced Usage
- Used to describe the slow, labored movement of inanimate objects, often metaphorically.
- Chiếc xe cũ lê lết trên đường đèo. (The old car crawled along the mountain pass.)
Variants and Related Words
- Lê la (v): To loiter, to linger around without a clear purpose. While related, "lê la" often implies idle lingering, whereas "lê lết" emphasizes difficult movement or a protracted, tiresome state.
Synonyms
- To shuffle: To walk without lifting the feet properly.
- To drag: To pull with effort along a surface.
- To crawl: To move slowly, close to the ground.
- To linger: To remain in a place or situation longer than necessary.
Related Idioms
- Sống lê lết: To lead a wretched, dragging existence.
- Sau tai nạn, ông ấy chỉ sống lê lết. (After the accident, he merely dragged out a wretched existence.)
- Câu chuyện lê lết: A story that drags on interminably.
- Buổi họp kết thúc với một câu chuyện lê lết chẳng ai muốn nghe. (The meeting ended with a story that dragged on, which no one wanted to hear.)