thấm thoắt
Definition
Adverb: - Quickly, fleetingly, in the blink of an eye: Used to describe time passing swiftly and almost unnoticed. It conveys a sense of surprise at how fast time has gone by.
Usage Examples
- Adverb:
- Thấm thoắt đã mười năm kể từ ngày chúng tôi gặp nhau. (Ten years have flown by since the day we met.)
- Thời gian trôi đi thấm thoắt. (Time passes in the blink of an eye.)
- Thấm thoắt mà các con tôi đã trưởng thành. (My children have grown up in what seems like an instant.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is primarily used in literary, poetic, or reflective contexts to express nostalgia or contemplation about the rapid passage of time. It is rarely used in casual, everyday conversation about immediate events.
Variants and Related Words
- Thấm thoát (adv): An older, variant form with the same meaning of time passing quickly. is the more commonly used form in modern Vietnamese.
Synonyms
- Nhanh chóng: quickly, swiftly.
- Thoắt cái: in a flash, suddenly (also emphasizes speed).
- Vùn vụt: very swiftly, like a flash (often for moving objects, but can be used for time).
Related Idioms
- Thấm thoắt thoi đưa: An idiom combining "thấm thoắt" with the image of a shuttle flying on a loom, poetically emphasizing the swift and relentless passage of time.
- Đời người thấm thoắt thoi đưa. (A human life passes as swiftly as a weaving shuttle.)