lắp ba lắp bắp
Definition
- Adjective:
- Stammering, stuttering, faltering: Describes speech that is hesitant, broken, or interrupted by frequent pauses or repetitions of sounds or syllables, often due to nervousness, fear, or a speech impediment.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cậu bé trả lời lắp ba lắp bắp khi bị cô giáo hỏi. (The boy answered stammeringly when the teacher asked him.)
- Cô ấy nói lắp ba lắp bắp vì quá căng thẳng. (She spoke falteringly because she was too nervous.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is a reduplicative compound, where "lắp bắp" is intensified or given a more descriptive rhythm by the infix "ba." This structure is common in Vietnamese to create vivid, onomatopoeic, or expressive adjectives, particularly for describing mannerisms or sounds.
Variants and Related Words
- Lắp bắp (adj): The root form, meaning to stammer or stutter.
- Anh ấy chỉ lắp bắp vài từ rồi im lặng. (He just stammered a few words and then fell silent.)
Synonyms
- Stammering: Speaking with sudden involuntary pauses and repetitions.
- Stuttering: A speech disorder involving disruptions in the flow of speech.
- Faltering: Speaking in a hesitant or unsteady voice.
Related Idioms
- While "lắp ba lắp bắp" itself is an idiomatic descriptive phrase, it is closely related to expressions describing a loss for words or nervous speech, such as "ấp a ấp úng" (to hem and haw).