ngảnh lại
Definition
- Verb:
- To turn one's head/face back: To rotate one's head or body to look behind or to face a different direction.
- To turn one's attention back (figurative): To return one's care, affection, or consideration to someone or something that was previously neglected or abandoned.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Nghe tiếng gọi, cô ấy ngảnh lại. (Hearing the call, she turned her head back.)
- Anh ta bước đi mà không ngảnh lại. (He walked away without turning back.)
- Sau bao năm bỏ mặc, giờ ông ấy mới ngảnh lại đến con cái. (After years of neglect, he is only now turning his attention back to his children.)
Advanced Usage
- The word often carries an emotional or moral weight, implying a deliberate act of reconsideration or a return of favor, not just a physical movement.
- It can be used in appeals for forgiveness or mercy, as in the historical/phrased usage: (I beg your lordship to look upon me with favor [lit., to turn back].)
Variants and Related Words
- Ngoảnh lại (v): A common variant with identical meaning and usage to .
- Quay lại (v): To turn back or return. This is more general and common for physical turning or returning to a place, with less of the figurative emotional connotation of .
- Ngoảnh mặt (v): To turn one's face away (often implying rejection or indifference).
Synonyms
- Turn back: To rotate to face the opposite direction.
- Look back: To direct one's gaze behind.
- Reconsider (figurative): To think about again, especially with a possible change of mind.
Related Idioms and Proverbs
- Cha mẹ ngảnh đi thì con dại, cha mẹ ngảnh lại thì con khôn. (A proverb: When parents turn away, the child is foolish; when parents turn back [with care], the child is wise.) This illustrates the figurative meaning, emphasizing the importance of parental attention and guidance.