Definition

1. Verb:
   • To turn (sharply): To change direction abruptly, often while moving. This is the primary meaning, implying a more sudden or angled turn than a gentle curve.
   • To bend back/force into a bent position: To fold or twist something, especially a limb or part of the body, into an unnatural or reversed position.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to turn):

  • Xe máy quặt sang trái ở ngã tư. (The motorbike turned left at the intersection.)
  • Đến ngã ba, anh ấy quặt phải. (When he reached the fork, he turned right.)

• Verb (to bend back):

  • Bọn cướp trói và quặt tay nạn nhân ra sau lưng. (The robbers tied and bent the victim's hands behind their back.)

Advanced Usage

• "quặt lại": to turn back, to double back.

  • Phát hiện đi sai đường, tài xế phải quặt lại. (Realizing he was on the wrong road, the driver had to turn back.)

• "quặt ngang": to turn sideways abruptly, to cut across.

  • Chiếc ô tô đột ngột quặt ngang đường. (The car suddenly cut sideways across the road.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quẹo (v): a Southern Vietnamese colloquial term meaning "to turn" (similar to quặt but more common in daily speech in the South).

  • Quẹo phải ở cây xăng. (Turn right at the gas station.)

• Rẽ (v): to turn. This is the most common and standard word for "to turn" in most contexts and is less abrupt than quặt.

  • Rẽ trái ở đèn đỏ. (Turn left at the red light.)

Synonyms

• Turn: to change direction.
• Swerve: to turn abruptly, especially to avoid something.
• Bend: to force into a curved or angled shape.

Related Idioms

• Rẽ trái quặt phải: Literally "to turn left and swerve right". This idiom describes evasive, unpredictable, or indecisive movement, often used metaphorically for someone who constantly changes their opinion or path.
  • Anh ta nói chuyện rẽ trái quặt phải, không biết đâu mà lần. (He talks in such a roundabout way, it's impossible to follow.)

verb

1. to turn
   • quặt sang phải
     to turn to the right