lặt
Definition
- Verb:
- To pick (up) / to gather: The primary meaning of "lặt" is to collect or gather small items, often one by one, from a surface or the ground. It implies a careful or selective action.
- To pluck / to strip off: "Lặt" is commonly used for the action of removing unwanted parts from vegetables, herbs, or plants, such as stems, bad leaves, or roots, in preparation for cooking.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Cô ấy lặt những chiếc lá vàng rơi trong sân. (She picked up the yellow leaves that fell in the yard.)
- Trước khi nấu, bạn phải lặt rau muống cho sạch. (Before cooking, you must pick the water spinach clean.)
- Đứa bé lặt những viên sỏi lên để chơi. (The child gathered the pebbles to play with.)
Advanced Usage
"lặt vặt": petty, trivial, miscellaneous. This is a common compound adjective.
- Anh ấy cứ lo những chuyện lặt vặt. (He keeps worrying about petty matters.)
"lặt ra": to pick out, to sort out (by picking).
- Hãy lặt ra những hạt đậu hỏng. (Please pick out the spoiled beans.)
Variants and Related Words
- Nhặt (v): This is the more standard and widely used synonym for "to pick up" or "to gather." "Lặt" is often considered a regional or dialectal variant of "nhặt."
- Nhặt rác (v): to pick up trash.
Synonyms
- Pick up: to take something up from a surface.
- Gather: to collect several things.
- Pluck: to remove something by pulling.
Related Idioms
Chuyện lặt vặt: trivial matters, small talk.
- Chúng tôi chỉ nói chuyện lặt vặt. (We were just making small talk.)
Lặt lá, lặt cành: to strip leaves and branches (a descriptive phrase for preparing greens).
- Công việc lặt lá, lặt cành mất nhiều thời gian. (The work of stripping leaves and branches is time-consuming.)