mò
Definition
Verb: 1. To grope; to fumble; to feel around: To search for something by touch, typically when one cannot see, often in water or darkness. 2. To guess; to figure out haphazardly: To try to find or determine something without a clear basis or method, relying on chance or trial and error. 3. (Colloquial) To sneak; to slink into: To move or enter somewhere stealthily or in an underhanded manner.
Usage Examples
- To grope/fumble:
- Anh ấy phải mò chìa khóa trong túi vì trời tối. (He had to grope for the keys in his pocket because it was dark.)
- Trẻ con thường mò cua trong các khe đá. (Children often grope for crabs in rock crevices.)
- To guess haphazardly:
- Bài toán khó quá, nó chỉ biết mò đáp án. (The math problem was too hard; he could only haphazardly guess the answer.)
- Đừng có nói mò! (Don't just talk nonsense/make wild guesses!)
- To sneak in:
- Tên trộm mò vào nhà lúc nửa đêm. (The thief sneaked into the house at midnight.)
Advanced Usage
- Mò mẫm: (Verb, reduplicated form) To grope around carefully and persistently.
- Nó mò mẫm tìm công tắc đèn trên tường. (He groped around for the light switch on the wall.)
- Làm/Làm việc mò: To work by trial and error, without a proper plan or instructions.
- Dự án mới, chúng tôi phải làm mò thôi. (It's a new project; we have to work by trial and error.)
- Tối mò: (Adjectival phrase) Pitch dark; very dark.
- Trời tối mò, chẳng thấy gì cả. (It's pitch dark; you can't see a thing.)
Variants and Related Words
- Mẫm (in "mò mẫm"): Part of the reduplicated verb emphasizing careful, probing action.
- Dò mò: (Verb) To investigate or probe cautiously; to sound something out.
- Phóng viên đang dò mò thông tin. (The reporter is probing for information.)
Synonyms
- Sờ soạng: (Verb) To grope, to fumble (often with a connotation of clumsiness).
- Lần mò: (Verb) To feel one's way; to proceed cautiously by touch or intuition.
- Đoán bừa/Đoán mò: (Verb) To make a wild guess.
- Lén lút: (Verb/Adverb) To act stealthily, secretly.
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
- Mò ra: To manage to find or figure out something after groping or guessing.
- Cuối cùng tôi cũng mò ra cách sửa cái máy này. (I finally figured out how to fix this machine.)
- Mò vào: To sneak into; to enter stealthily.
- Con mèo mò vào bếp. (The cat sneaked into the kitchen.)
Related Idioms
- Mò kim đáy bể / Mò kim đáy biển: (Lit. "To grope for a needle at the bottom of the sea") A Vietnamese idiom equivalent to "looking for a needle in a haystack" – an almost impossible search task.
- Tìm lại chiếc nhẫn ấy chẳng khác nào mò kim đáy bể. (Finding that ring is like looking for a needle in a haystack.)
- Ăn mò: (Lit. "to eat by groping") To eat in the dark.
- Mất điện, cả nhà phải ăn mò. (The power went out, so the whole family had to eat in the dark.)
verb
-
to grope; to fumble
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