Definition

Verb: - To drift: To move slowly, especially as carried by water or air currents, often without a fixed direction or destination. It can also metaphorically describe a person living a wandering, unsettled life, often due to difficult circumstances.

Usage

The verb "trôi giạt" describes a passive, uncontrolled movement or a state of being adrift. It is often used to depict physical objects carried by water or wind, or to describe people living in displacement, homelessness, or without a stable life.

Examples

• Literal (Physical Drifting):

  • Chiếc thuyền nhỏ trôi giạt vào bờ sau cơn bão. (The small boat drifted ashore after the storm.)
  • Những cánh hoa anh đào trôi giạt trên mặt hồ. (The cherry blossom petals drifted on the lake's surface.)

• Figurative (Human Condition):

  • Sau chiến tranh, nhiều người phải trôi giạt khắp nơi để kiếm sống. (After the war, many people had to drift everywhere to make a living.)
  • Cuộc đời anh ấy trôi giạt từ thành phố này sang thành phố khác. (His life has drifted from one city to another.)

Advanced Usage

• "trôi giạt nơi đất khách": To drift/be cast away in a foreign land. This phrase emphasizes the loneliness and displacement of living far from home.
  • Hàng chục năm trôi giạt nơi đất khách, ông luôn nhớ về quê hương. (Having drifted in a foreign land for decades, he always missed his homeland.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trôi nổi (verb): To float; to drift. Often used interchangeably with "trôi giạt" but can imply a slightly less dire or more temporary state.
• Lênh đênh (verb): To be adrift; to drift aimlessly (often on water). It strongly conveys a sense of instability and lack of control.
• Lưu lạc (verb): To live in exile or wander far from home; to be displaced. Focuses more on the state of being away from one's native place.

Synonyms

• Bập bềnh: To bob up and down; to float unsteadily.
• Phiêu bạt: To wander; to roam. Often used for people leading a vagrant or nomadic life.

Related Idioms

• Đời trôi giạt: A drifting life. Refers to an unstable, rootless existence.
  • Một đời trôi giạt không nhà cửa, không bến đỗ. (A drifting life without a home, without a harbor.)

verb

1. to drift