Definition

1. Verb:

   • To hang about / to loiter / to mill around: To stay in or move around a place without any clear purpose or aim, often in a limited area.
   • To revolve around / to be confined to: To be limited to a specific set of subjects, places, or ideas without progressing or expanding.

2. Adjective:

   • Devious / roundabout / indirect: Describing speech, thoughts, or actions that are not straightforward, clear, or honest; circuitous.
   • Close by / nearby: Located not far away; within a short distance or a familiar, confined area.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Lũ trẻ quanh quẩn trong bếp đợi ăn. (The children hung about in the kitchen waiting to eat.)
  • Câu chuyện của anh ấy quanh quẩn mãi về chuyện cũ. (His story just kept revolving around the same old matters.)
• Adjective:
  • Anh ta trả lời một cách quanh quẩn để tránh câu hỏi. (He answered in a devious/roundabout way to avoid the question.)
  • Cô ấy chỉ đi chơi quanh quẩn trong làng. (She only goes out close by, within the village.)

Advanced Usage

• "quanh quẩn quanh quẩn": A reduplicated form emphasizing the repetitive, monotonous, or confined nature of an action or situation.
  • Cuộc sống quanh quẩn quanh quẩn từ nhà đến công ty. (Life is just the same old routine shuttling back and forth from home to the office.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quanh co (adj): Indirect, winding, evasive. Often used for physical paths or speech.
  • Con đường quanh co dẫn lên núi. (The winding road leads up the mountain.)
  • Đừng nói quanh co, hãy đi thẳng vào vấn đề. (Don't speak evasively, get straight to the point.)

Synonyms

• To hang around, to loiter, to mill about.
• To revolve around, to be stuck on.
• Indirect, circuitous, evasive.
• Nearby, close at hand.

Related Idioms

• Đầu óc quanh quẩn: To have a mind that is stuck in loops or confused.
  • Nghĩ mãi không ra, đầu óc tôi quanh quẩn cả ngày. (I couldn't figure it out; my mind was going in circles all day.)
• Quanh quẩn cũng chỉ...: In the end, it's only... / When all is said and done...
  • Quanh quẩn cũng chỉ tại thiếu tiền. (When all is said and done, it's just because of a lack of money.)

verb

1. to hang about
   • quanh quẩn cả ngày ở nhà
     to hang about in one's house all day

adj

1. devious
   • nói quanh quẩn
     to talk in a devious way