mắc kẹt
Definition
Verb:
- To be stuck: To be caught or trapped in a position from which it is difficult to move or escape. This can refer to a physical object or a person.
- To be jammed: To become fixed in place, often causing a malfunction, such as a machine part that won't move.
- To be caught (in a situation): To be trapped in a difficult, problematic, or inescapable circumstance.
Adjective:
- Stuck: Describing the state of being trapped or unable to proceed.
Usage Examples
- Verb/Adjective:
- Chiếc xe bị mắc kẹt trong bùn. (The car was stuck in the mud.)
- Tờ giấy bị mắc kẹt trong máy in. (The paper got jammed in the printer.)
- Công ty mắc kẹt trong một vụ kiện phức tạp. (The company is caught in a complex lawsuit.)
Advanced Usage
"mắc kẹt tài chính": to be financially stuck or in a financial bind.
- Nhiều sinh viên tốt nghiệp mắc kẹt tài chính vì khoản vay. (Many graduates are financially stuck because of their loans.)
"mắc kẹt giữa hai lựa chọn": to be stuck between two choices.
- Tôi đang mắc kẹt giữa hai lựa chọn nghề nghiệp. (I am stuck between two career choices.)
Variants and Related Words
Kẹt (v/adj): to be stuck, blocked, or jammed. Often used interchangeably or in a slightly more informal context.
- Đường phố bị kẹt cứng. (The street is completely jammed.)
Mắc (v): to be caught (on something) or to be entangled. Can be part of other compound words.
- Áo len bị mắc vào cành cây. (The sweater got caught on a tree branch.)
Synonyms
- Stuck: Unable to move.
- Jammed: Wedged or blocked so that movement is impossible.
- Trapped: Caught and held in a confining situation.
- Caught: Captured or entangled.
Related Idioms
Mắc kẹt giữa dòng đời: to be stuck in the flow of life (a poetic expression for being trapped by life's circumstances).
- Đôi khi ta cảm thấy mắc kẹt giữa dòng đời. (Sometimes we feel stuck in the flow of life.)
Mắc kẹt như chim trong lồng: to be stuck like a bird in a cage (to feel trapped and without freedom).
- Cô ấy cảm thấy mắc kẹt như chim trong lồng trong cuộc hôn nhân đó. (She felt stuck like a bird in a cage in that marriage.)