Definition

1. Verb:
   • To move lightly and quickly: Describes a slight, rapid, and often repeated movement, typically of a small part of the body (like lips, fingers, or eyelids). It implies a movement that is barely perceptible or just beginning.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đôi môi anh ấy mấp máy như đang thì thầm điều gì. (His lips moved lightly as if whispering something.)
  • Chú chim non mấp máy cái mỏ, chờ mẹ mớm mồi. (The baby bird's beak twitched, waiting for its mother to feed it.)
  • Chỉ thấy mí mắt cô ấy mấp máy, nhưng cô vẫn chưa tỉnh hẳn. (Only her eyelids fluttered, but she wasn't fully awake yet.)

Advanced Usage

• "mấp máy môi": to move one's lips (often silently).
  • Ông cụ mấp máy môi đọc kinh. (The old man moved his lips in prayer.)
• "mấp máy chân tay": to make slight, initial movements with limbs.
  • Đứa trẻ sơ sinh đã mấp máy chân tay. (The newborn baby began to move its arms and legs slightly.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mấp má (verb): A less common variant with the same meaning as "mấp máy".
• Mấp mô (adjective): Describes a bumpy, uneven surface (e.g., a road). This is a different word with a distinct meaning related to texture, not movement.
• Máy (verb): To twitch, to jerk (a stronger, more involuntary movement than "mấp máy").

Synonyms

• Cử động nhẹ: to move lightly.
• Nhích: to shift slightly (often for a single, small movement).
• Co giật nhẹ: to twitch slightly (more medical or involuntary).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Not commonly applicable for this descriptive verb. Its meaning is typically contained within the single word.)

Related Idioms

• Mấp máy bên mép: (Literally: to move lightly at the edge of the lips) Often used to describe someone on the verge of speaking or smiling but holding back.
  • Nghe câu chuyện hài, nó chỉ mấp máy bên mép, cố nhịn cười. (Hearing the funny story, he just twitched at the corner of his mouth, trying not to laugh.)

verb

1. to move lightly and quickly