Definition

1. Noun:

   • A skipping stone game: A traditional children's game where a flat piece of pottery, tile, or stone is thrown sideways across the surface of water to make it skip or bounce multiple times.
   • The act of skipping a stone: The action or technique of making a flat object bounce on water.

2. Adjective/Adverb (in the phrase "ném thia lia"):

   • Skipping, ricocheting: Describing the manner of throwing an object so it skims and bounces across a water surface.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Bọn trẻ chơi thia lia ở bờ sông. (The children are playing the stone-skipping game at the riverbank.)
  • Nó tìm một mảnh sành phẳng để chơi thia lia. (He is looking for a flat piece of pottery to use for stone skipping.)

• Adjective/Adverb:

  • Cậu bé ném viên đá thia lia trên mặt hồ. (The boy threw the stone skipping across the lake surface.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in the context of the specific game or action. It can function descriptively within a verb phrase.

Variants and Related Words

• Cá thia lia (n): A specific type of small, quick fish, likely named for its darting, skipping movement in water.
  • Trong bể có vài con cá thia lia. (There are a few thia lia fish in the tank.)

Synonyms

• Stone skipping: The game or action.
• Ricochet (on water): The bouncing motion.
• Duck and drake (British English, archaic): A term for the same game.

Related Idioms

• While not a standalone idiom, the phrase "ném thia lia" is the standard collocation meaning "to skip stones."