lấp loé
Definition
Verb:
- To flicker: To shine with an unsteady, rapidly varying light that appears and disappears quickly and repeatedly, like a weak flame or a distant light source.
- To glimmer: To emit a faint, wavering light that is barely visible or intermittent.
Verb (figurative):
- To flash intermittently: To appear briefly and then disappear, often suggesting something elusive, transient, or barely perceptible, such as a memory or an emotion.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Ngọn nến lấp loé trong gió. (The candle flickered in the wind.)
- Ánh đèn từ ngôi nhà xa lấp loé qua kẽ lá. (The light from the distant house glimmered through the gaps in the leaves.)
- Verb (figurative):
- Hy vọng duy nhất lấp loé trong tâm trí cô ấy. (The only hope glimmered in her mind.)
- Ký ức về tuổi thơ lấp loé rồi biến mất. (The memory of childhood flickered and then vanished.)
Advanced Usage
- Used to describe the visual effect of light reflecting off a moving surface, like water or metal.
- Mặt hồ lấp loé dưới ánh trăng. (The lake's surface glimmered under the moonlight.)
Variants and Related Words
- Lấp lánh (v): To sparkle, to glitter. Implies a brighter, more brilliant, and often more continuous shimmer than "lấp loé."
- Những vì sao lấp lánh trên bầu trời đêm. (The stars sparkled in the night sky.)
- Loé sáng (v): To flash, to flare up. Suggests a sudden, bright, and brief emission of light.
- Tia chớp loé sáng trên bầu trời. (Lightning flashed across the sky.)
Synonyms
- Flicker: To burn or shine unsteadily.
- Glimmer: To shine faintly with a wavering light.
- Twinkle: To shine with a flickering light (often used for stars, similar to "lấp lánh").
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Lấp loé như ma trơi: To flicker like will-o'-the-wisp; describing something elusive, deceptive, or untrustworthy.
- Lời hứa của hắn chỉ lấp loé như ma trơi. (His promises only flickered like a will-o'-the-wisp.)