Definition

1. Adjective/Adverb (descriptive phrase):
   • Spinning/whirling extremely fast: Describes an object or person rotating or revolving at a very high, often dizzying, speed. It emphasizes the visual effect of rapid, continuous spinning.
   • To be very busy, bustling non-stop: Used figuratively to describe a state of being extremely busy, constantly occupied, or running around in a hectic manner.

Usage Examples

• Literal - Spinning fast:
  • Chong chóng gió quay tít. (The pinwheel is spinning like crazy.)
  • Cậu bé làm chiếc chong chóng quay tít. (The boy made the pinwheel whirl at top speed.)
• Figurative - Very busy:
  • Nhân viên quay tít cả ngày để chuẩn bị cho sự kiện. (The staff have been running around frantically all day to prepare for the event.)
  • Đầu óc tôi quay tít vì có quá nhiều việc phải nghĩ. (My mind is spinning because there are too many things to think about.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be intensified as "quay tít thò lò", which carries the same core meanings but with a more vivid, colloquial tone. "Thò lò" is a rhyming element that adds emphasis.
  • Con quay thò lò của đứa trẻ quay tít thò lò trên sàn. (The child's top spun like crazy on the floor.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quay (v): to turn, to rotate, to spin.
  • Trái Đất quay quanh Mặt Trời. (The Earth revolves around the Sun.)
• Quay cuồng (v): to whirl frenziedly; often used for emotional or chaotic states.
  • Anh ấy quay cuồng trong công việc. (He is whirling/swamped with work.)

Synonyms

• Spin rapidly: whirl, rotate at high speed.
• Whirl: to spin quickly.
• Bustle: to move or act in a busy, energetic way (for the figurative sense).

Related Idioms

• While "quay tít" itself is idiomatic, it is related to the imagery of:
  • Đầu quay cuồng: head is spinning (from dizziness or overwhelm).

    • Nghe tin đó, đầu tôi quay cuồng. (Hearing that news, my head is spinning.)

1. (khẩu ngữ: quay tít thò lò)
2. Turn like a teetotum