Definition

1. Verb:

   • To be driven or washed ashore; to be blown or swept to a specific location: Used primarily for boats, ships, or objects that are forced by wind, waves, or current to come to rest against a shore, bank, or other point.
   • To drop in; to stop by briefly: To make a short, incidental visit to a place.

2. Adverb:

   • Completely; perfectly; very: An intensifier used before adjectives like "straight" or "far" to denote an extreme or perfect degree.
   • Immediately; at once; suddenly: Used to indicate an action that stops or happens abruptly.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Thuyền bị bão tắp vào bờ. (The boat was driven ashore by the storm.)
  • Xe đạp của tôi bị nước lũ tắp vào gốc cây. (My bicycle was washed up against the tree root by the floodwater.)
  • Tôi chỉ tắp vào thăm một chút thôi. (I'm just dropping in for a quick visit.)

• Adverb:

  • Con đường thẳng tắp. (The road is perfectly straight.)
  • Đang khóc, nó nín tắp lại. (While crying, it stopped suddenly at once.)

Advanced Usage

• The adverb form is often used in the reduplicated form "tăm tắp" to express a stronger, more emphatic degree (e.g., very straight, perfectly aligned, or stopping very abruptly).
  • Những hàng cây đứng thẳng tăm tắp. (The rows of trees stand perfectly straight.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tăm tắp (adv): An intensified form meaning "perfectly," "completely," or "in perfect alignment."
  • Các học sinh ngồi ngay ngắn tăm tắp. (The students sat neatly in perfect rows.)

Synonyms

• Verb: To be cast ashore; to be washed up; to drift to; to stop by.
• Adverb: Perfectly; utterly; completely; immediately; abruptly.

Related Idioms

• Thẳng tắp: Perfectly straight; stretching far into the distance without curves.
  • Đại lộ chạy thẳng tắp về phía chân trời. (The boulevard runs perfectly straight toward the horizon.)