Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To take a misstep / to make a wrong move: To proceed with an action or decision that later proves to be a mistake or leads one down an erroneous path. It implies a sense of having already committed to the action and realizing its fault only afterward.
   • To go astray: To deviate from the correct or proper course, often with a connotation of regret for the initial error.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Giờ hối hận vì đã nhỡ bước. (Now he regrets having taken a misstep.)
  • Cô ấy nhỡ bước khi tin lời hắn. (She went astray when she believed his words.)
  • Nhỡ bước một lần, ân hận cả đời. (To make one wrong move is to regret it for a lifetime.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often carries a moral or consequential weight, suggesting a single error in judgment that leads to a series of negative outcomes, sometimes used in contexts of moral failing or life-altering mistakes.

Synonyms

• To err: To make a mistake.
• To stray: To wander from the right path or course.
• To blunder: To make a foolish or careless mistake.

Related Idioms

• Nhỡ bước lầm đường: To take a wrong turn; to err and go down the wrong path. This is an extended, more emphatic form of the core phrase.
  • Tuổi trẻ dễ nhỡ bước lầm đường. (Youth can easily err and go down the wrong path.)