trằn
Definition
Verb:
- To struggle/wriggle down: To describe a young child actively trying to squirm or wriggle out of someone's arms to get down to the ground.
- To strive/endeavor intensely: To throw oneself into an action or to exert great effort in doing something.
Adjective/Adverbial Particle:
- Crushing/pressing down: Describing a type of pain, often associated with labor contractions, that feels heavy, pressing, or bearing down.
Usage Examples
Verb:
- Đứa bé không chịu ngồi yên, cứ trằn xuống đất. (The child wouldn't sit still, just kept wriggling down to the floor.)
- Nó trằn ra làm việc cả đêm. (He strove intensely, working all night.)
Adjective/Adverbial Particle:
- Cơn đau trằn bụng dưới. (A pressing pain in the lower abdomen.)
- Cô ấy đau trằn khi chuyển dạ. (She had bearing-down pain during labor.)
Advanced Usage
- The verb form often implies a physical struggle against being held or a metaphorical struggle to accomplish a task with great determination.
- The adjectival form is almost exclusively used to describe a specific, intense, and downward-pressing sensation of pain.
Variants and Related Words
- Trằn trọc (v): To toss and turn (usually due to worry or insomnia).
- Lo lắng, anh ấy trằn trọc cả đêm. (Worried, he tossed and turned all night.)
Synonyms
- To wriggle: To twist and turn the body.
- To strive: To make great efforts.
- Crushing/pressing: Applying heavy weight or force.
Related Idioms
- Trằn mình làm việc: To work oneself to the bone; to exert immense physical effort in work.
- Để nuôi gia đình, ông ấy trằn mình làm việc. (To support his family, he worked himself to the bone.)