Definition

1. Intransitive verb:

   • To draw back, to retract, to shrink back: To move a part of the body, especially the neck or shoulders, inward or backward, often due to fear, cold, or a desire to make oneself appear smaller.
   • To cower, to recoil: To show fear or submissiveness by physically withdrawing.

2. Transitive verb (used with a direct object, often a body part):

   • To draw in, to retract: To pull a specific part of the body inward.

Usage Examples

• Intransitive verb:

  • Trời lạnh, nó rùn lại. (It's cold, he draws back/shivers.)
  • Thấy chó sủa, đứa bé rùn người lại. (Seeing the dog bark, the child cowered.)

• Transitive verb:

  • Con rùa rùn cổ vào trong mai. (The turtle retracts its neck into its shell.)
  • Cô ấy rùn vai vì xấu hổ. (She hunched her shoulders in embarrassment.)

Advanced Usage

• "rùn cổ": This is the most common collocation. It literally means "to draw in one's neck" and vividly describes an action of fear, submission, or trying to avoid notice.

  • Nó chỉ biết rùn cổ nghe mẹ mắng. (He could only draw in his neck and listen to his mother scold him.)

• "rùn mình": To shrink one's whole body back. This emphasizes a full-body reaction of fear or cold.

  • Tiếng nổ lớn khiến mọi người rùn mình. (The loud explosion made everyone recoil.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rụt: A more common synonym with the same meaning (to retract, to draw back). "Rụt" is used more frequently in modern Vietnamese than "rùn."

  • Con ốc sên rụt đầu vào. (The snail retracts its head.)

• Rút: To pull out, to withdraw (often used for objects, troops, or money). While related, "rút" generally implies removal from a place or situation, not a physical shrinking.

  • Rút tiền từ ngân hàng. (To withdraw money from the bank.)

Synonyms

• Co lại: To shrink, to contract.
• Thu mình: To withdraw into oneself, to make oneself small (often physically and metaphorically).
• Khúm núm: To cower, to behave in a overly submissive and fearful manner (stronger connotation of servility).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Constructions)

• Rùn người: To hunch/bow one's body.

  • Nó rùn người chạy qua cánh cửa. (He hunched over and ran through the doorway.)

• Rùn vai: To hunch one's shoulders.

  • Anh ta rùn vai tỏ vẻ không biết. (He hunched his shoulders to feign ignorance.)

Related Idioms

• Rùn cổ rùn vai: To be cowering and submissive, to act in a timid and fearful manner. This idiom intensifies the image of physical withdrawal.
  • Suốt ngày chỉ biết rùn cổ rùn vai, không dám nói lời nào. (All day long, he just cowers and doesn't dare say a word.)

1. (ít dùng) Draw back, draw in, retract
   • Rùn cổ
     To draw in one's neck