Definition

1. Verb:

   • To tremble uncontrollably: To shake or quiver involuntarily, often due to fear, cold, illness, or strong emotion. This is the primary and most common meaning.
   • To shiver: To shake slightly and uncontrollably, typically as a reaction to cold or fever.

2. Adjective (Descriptive Verb):

   • Trembling / Shaky: Describing a state of constant, visible shaking, often conveying fear or weakness.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Cậu bé run rẩy vì lạnh. (The boy trembled uncontrollably from the cold.)
  • Nghe tin dữ, bà cụ run rẩy cả người. (Hearing the bad news, the old woman trembled all over.)
  • Tay anh ấy run rẩy khi cầm lá thư. (His hands were trembling as he held the letter.)

• Adjective:

  • Giọng nói run rẩy của cô ấy tố cáo nỗi sợ hãi. (Her trembling voice betrayed her fear.)
  • Nó đứng đó với vẻ mặt run rẩy. (He stood there with a shaky, fearful expression.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "run rẩy" often implies a more intense, visible, and sustained state of shaking than the simpler verb "run". It frequently carries a strong connotation of fear, vulnerability, or severe physical distress.
• In medical contexts, it can describe tremors associated with fever, shock, or neurological conditions.

Variants and Related Words

• Run (v): to shake, to tremble. A more general term for trembling.

  • Chân tôi run vì hồi hộp. (My legs are shaking from nervousness.)

• Lập cập (v/adj): to totter, to be unsteady (often from weakness or age), sometimes involving slight shaking.

  • Ông cụ bước đi lập cập. (The old man walked with tottering steps.)

Synonyms

• Tremble: To shake involuntarily.
• Shiver: To tremble, especially from cold or fear.
• Quake: To shake or tremble violently.
• Shudder: To tremble convulsively, typically as a result of fear or revulsion.

Related Idioms

• Run như cầy sấy: To tremble like a leaf; to shake violently.

  • Sợ hãi, nó run như cầy sấy. (Terrified, he shook like a leaf.)

• Run rẩy cầm cập: To be shaking and chattering (from cold or fear).

  • Ngồi trong tuyết, họ run rẩy cầm cập. (Sitting in the snow, they were shaking and chattering.)

1. Tremble uncontrollably