lăn lóc
Definition
Verb:
- To roll around, to tumble: Describes the physical action of an object or person repeatedly turning over or moving by rotating on a surface.
- To be scattered about, to lie around untidily: Refers to objects being left in a disorderly, neglected state, often in various places.
- To wallow, to be deeply involved (in a negative situation): Describes being immersed or entangled in a difficult, troublesome, or morally questionable activity or circumstance, often with a sense of struggle or suffering.
Adjective (ph.):
- Neglected, uncared for: Describes a state of living without proper care or attention, often implying hardship.
- Addicted, engrossed: Describes being excessively absorbed or obsessed with something, typically a vice or detrimental activity.
Usage Examples
Verb:
- Quả bóng lăn lóc trên sân cỏ. (The ball rolled around on the grass.)
- Đồ chơi lăn lóc khắp sàn nhà. (Toys were scattered all over the floor.)
- Anh ấy lăn lóc trong cuộc sống khó khăn nhiều năm. (He wallowed in a difficult life for many years.)
Adjective (ph.):
- Đứa trẻ mồ côi sống một cuộc đời lăn lóc. (The orphan child lived a neglected, hard life.)
- Hắn lăn lóc với cờ bạc, chẳng quan tâm đến gia đình. (He is engrossed in gambling, paying no attention to his family.)
Advanced Usage
"lăn lóc kiếm sống": to struggle to make a living, often through various odd and difficult jobs.
- Sau khi mất việc, anh ta phải lăn lóc kiếm sống bằng đủ nghề. (After losing his job, he had to struggle to make a living doing all sorts of jobs.)
"đồ đạc lăn lóc": belongings/items lying around in disarray.
- Căn phòng bừa bộn với sách vở lăn lóc. (The room was messy with books and papers lying around.)
Variants and Related Words
- Lăn (verb): to roll. This is the core root. "Lăn lóc" intensifies or extends the meaning of "lăn".
- Lóc (a component): This element, when combined with "lăn", adds a sense of repetition, disorder, or difficulty. It is rarely used independently in modern Vietnamese with this meaning.
Synonyms
- Lăn: to roll (more neutral, single action).
- Vật lộn: to struggle, to wrestle (emphasizes effort against difficulty).
- Bừa bộn: messy, untidy (describes state, not action).
- Chìm đắm: to be immersed, submerged (in an activity or state, often negative).
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
Note: "Lăn lóc" itself functions as a compound verb. Here are common collocations. - Lăn lộn: Often used interchangeably with "lăn lóc," but can sometimes imply more active physical struggling or "rolling in the dirt" in a literal or figurative sense. - Lăn lộn ngoài chiến trường. (To have been through the thick of battle.) - Sống lăn lóc: to live a hard, neglected, or vagabond life. - Tuổi thơ nó sống lăn lóc trên phố. (His childhood was spent living a hard life on the streets.)
Related Idioms
- Lăn như chó với cát: (To roll like a dog in sand) – An idiom describing someone rolling on the ground, often in pain, laughter, or play.
- Đau bụng quá, nó lăn như chó với cát. (His stomach hurt so much he was rolling on the ground.)
- Đầu đường xó chợ: (At the head of the road, at the corner of the market) – Describes a vagabond, unstable life, similar to the adjectival sense of "sống lăn lóc".
- Cuộc sống đầu đường xó chợ. (A life of drifting without a stable home.)