Definition

Verb: - To waddle: To walk with short, clumsy steps, swaying from side to side, often like a duck or a person carrying a heavy load. It describes a slow, heavy, and unsteady gait.

Usage

The word lạch bạch is an onomatopoeic verb (từ mô phỏng) that vividly imitates the sound and motion of a heavy, plodding walk. It is used to describe movement that is slow, labored, and often awkward.

Examples

• (The mother duck led her ducklings waddling to the pond.)
• (He carried a heavy sack of rice, waddling along the muddy road.)
• (The toddler just learning to walk took waddling steps, looking very adorable.)

Advanced Usage

• Lạch bà lạch bạch: This is a reduplicated form (láy) of the word. The addition of "lạch bà" intensifies the meaning, emphasizing a continuous, repeated, or even more clumsy and heavy waddling motion.
  • Chú vịt béo ú lạch bà lạch bạch bước xuống nước. (The plump duck waddled clumsily and continuously into the water.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lạch bạch functions primarily as a verb. Its reduplicated form lạch bà lạch bạch is a common variant with stronger descriptive force.

Synonyms

• Lặc lè: (verb) To waddle, to toddle (also describes an unsteady, swaying walk).
• Lật đật: (verb/adverb) To hurry in a clumsy, bustling manner (focuses more on hurried clumsiness than the side-to-side motion).

Related Idioms or Phrases

While lạch bạch itself is not typically part of fixed idioms, it is a descriptive word often used in similes: - Chạy lạch bạch như vịt bầu: To run waddling like a fat duck. (A simile emphasizing clumsy, heavy running.)

verb

1. to waddle