Definition

1. Verb:
   • To bounce lightly / to bob: To move with a series of small, springy, up-and-down motions, often conveying a sense of lightness, playfulness, or restrained energy.
   • To mince / to walk with an affected gait: To walk or move in a dainty, exaggeratedly careful, or prim manner. This meaning aligns with the older, more specific usage found in some dictionaries.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Những đứa trẻ nhún nhảy vui vẻ trên tấm đệm lò xo. (The children bounced happily on the trampoline.)
  • Cô ấy nhún nhảy theo điệu nhạc. (She bounced lightly to the music.)
  • Chiếc đòn gánh nhún nhảy theo nhịp bước của người phụ nữ. (The carrying pole bobbed in rhythm with the woman's steps.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often describes a visual rhythm, such as the bouncing of hair, a dancer's steps, or the movement of a flexible object under weight.
• It can imply a cheerful, energetic state, especially when describing people or animals.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhún (v): to dip down slightly, to crouch a little. This is the core motion within "nhún nhảy."
• Nhảy (v): to jump, to leap. Combined with "nhún," it creates the meaning of repeated small jumps.

Synonyms

• Bounce: to spring back after hitting a surface.
• Bob: to move up and down briefly and repeatedly.
• Prate (archaic for the walking style): to walk in a prim, affected way.

Related Idioms

• While "nhún nhảy" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the action it describes is common in phrases about joy and movement, such as (to bounce with joy).