Definition

1. Verb:
   • To gather, to cluster, to huddle: To come together into a small, close group, often informally or spontaneously. It implies a small, intimate gathering rather than a large, organized crowd.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Lũ trẻ tụm lại xem một con bọ. (The children gathered to look at a bug.)
  • Mấy nhân viên tụm ở góc văn phòng để nói chuyện. (The employees huddled in the corner of the office to talk.)
  • Chúng tôi thường tụm trước cổng trường sau giờ học. (We usually cluster in front of the school gate after class.)

Advanced Usage

• "tụm năm tụm ba": This is a very common idiom meaning "to gather in small groups of three or five." It often carries a connotation of people gathering to gossip, conspire, or discuss something privately, sometimes with a slightly suspicious or secretive nuance.
  • Họ đứng tụm năm tụm ba bàn tán về sự việc. (They stood around in small groups, gossiping about the incident.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tụ tập (v): To assemble, to congregate. This is a more general and formal term for gathering, often used for larger groups.
  • Một đám đông tụ tập trước tòa nhà. (A crowd assembled in front of the building.)
• Tụ lại (v): To gather together, to converge. This is a phrasal verb with a meaning very close to "tụm."
  • Nước mưa tụ lại thành vũng. (The rainwater gathered into a puddle.)

Synonyms

• Gather: To come together.
• Cluster: To form a small, close group.
• Huddle: To crowd together closely.

Related Idioms

• Tụm năm tụm ba: As described in Advanced Usage, this is the primary idiom.

verb

1. to gather