Definition

1. Verb:
   • To stir, to agitate: To move a liquid or substance around using a tool like a spoon or stick.
   • To move, to wriggle: To make small, often restless or constrained, bodily movements.

Usage

• The verb quậy is used to describe a physical action of causing movement, either in an object (like a liquid) or within one's own body. It often implies a repetitive or stirring motion.
• It is commonly used in informal, everyday Southern Vietnamese speech. In formal contexts or Northern Vietnamese, words like khuấy (to stir) or cựa quậy (to wriggle) might be preferred.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to stir):

  • Cô ấy quậy đường trong ly trà. (She stirs the sugar in the cup of tea.)
  • Nhớ quậy đều súp trước khi ăn. (Remember to stir the soup well before eating.)

• Verb (to move/wriggle):

  • Đứa bé quậy không ngừng trên ghế. (The child wriggles incessantly on the chair.)
  • Bị bó bột, chân tôi không quậy được. (With a cast on, my leg can't move.)

Advanced Usage

• "quậy phá": This is a common compound meaning "to act up, to be mischievous or disruptive." It extends the idea of restless movement to unruly behavior.
  • Lũ trẻ quậy phá cả căn phòng. (The kids trashed/messed up the whole room.)
• "ăn no rồi quậy": An informal idiom implying someone has energy (often to cause trouble) after being satisfied or fed, similar to "well-fed and restless."

Variants and Related Words

• Khuấy (verb): The more standard word for "to stir" a liquid.
• Cựa quậy (verb): Emphasizes slight, struggling bodily movements, often when constrained.
• Quẫy (verb): A near-synonym, often used for the vigorous movement of animals (like fish) or limbs. In some Southern dialects, quậy and quẫy are used interchangeably.

Synonyms

• Khuấy động (verb): To stir up, to agitate (often for liquids or emotions).
• Cựa động (verb): To make a slight movement.
• Ngọ nguậy (verb): To fidget, to squirm.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Compound Verbs

• Quậy tưng: To be very lively and noisy, to party hard or cause a big stir.
  • Họ quậy tưng trong bữa tiệc. (They partied hard at the celebration.)
• Quậy nước: Literally "to stir the water," can mean to cause trouble or disrupt a stable situation.
  • Đừng có vào quậy nước cho mọi thứ rối tung lên. (Don't go in there and stir up trouble, making everything chaotic.)

Related Idioms

• "Nằm im không quậy": To lie still without moving.
  • Bác sĩ bảo tôi phải nằm im không quậy. (The doctor told me I must lie completely still.)
• "Quậy như ma trơi": To be extremely hyperactive or disruptive, like a will-o'-the-wisp.

verb

1. to stir up; to move
   • quậy một tách cà phê
     to stir a cup of coffee