lết

Người bị thương lết từng bước trên đường.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To drag oneself; to shuffle along: To move slowly and with great difficulty, typically by pulling the body or limbs along the ground or floor without properly lifting the feet.
   • To crawl laboriously: To advance at an extremely slow, strained pace, often due to exhaustion, injury, or weakness.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Ông cụ lết vào trong nhà. (The old man dragged himself into the house.)
  • Chân bị thương, nó phải lết từng bước một. (With an injured leg, he had to shuffle along step by step.)
  • Sau trận ốm, cô ấy chỉ còn sức lết ra khỏi giường. (After the illness, she only had enough strength to haul herself out of bed.)

Advanced Usage

• "lết bết": to be bogged down; to move or progress in a sluggish, stuck, or messy manner. This variant emphasizes a sticky, difficult, or untidy state.
  • Công việc đang lết bết mãi không xong. (The work is bogged down and never gets finished.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lết la lết lết (idiomatic phrase): to drag oneself around endlessly or aimlessly; to linger or loiter while moving slowly.
  • Nó lết la lết lết cả ngày trong công viên. (He dragged himself around the park all day long.)

Synonyms

• Shuffle: to walk without lifting the feet properly.
• Drag: to pull with effort or difficulty.
• Haul oneself: to move one's body with great exertion.

Related Idioms

• Lết như rùa: to move as slowly as a turtle; to crawl at a snail's pace.
  • Đường kẹt xe, xe chạy lết như rùa. (The road was jammed, and the cars crawled at a snail's pace.)