uốn khúc
Definition
Verb:
- To meander: To follow a winding and turning course, typically used to describe the movement of a river, stream, or road.
- To snake: To move or lie in a long, twisting, sinuous line.
Adjective:
- Winding / Sinuous: Describing something that has a series of curves or bends, like a meandering path or river.
Usage Examples
Verb:
- Con sông uốn khúc qua cánh đồng. (The river meanders through the field.)
- Con đường uốn khúc lên núi. (The road snakes up the mountain.)
Adjective:
- Dòng sông uốn khúc rất đẹp. (The winding river is very beautiful.)
- Họ đi trên con đường uốn khúc. (They walked on the sinuous path.)
Advanced Usage
- "uốn khúc quanh co": to twist and turn, to wind tortuously.
- Lối mòn uốn khúc quanh co trong rừng. (The trail twists and turns through the forest.)
Variants and Related Words
Khúc khuỷu (adj): rugged, jagged, full of sharp turns (often for roads or terrain).
- Đường đèo khúc khuỷu nguy hiểm. (The rugged mountain pass is dangerous.)
Quanh co (adj/adv): winding, circuitous; in a roundabout way.
- Anh ấy trả lời một cách quanh co. (He answered in a roundabout way.)
Synonyms
- Meander: to follow a winding course.
- Wind: to have or follow a curving or twisting course.
- Snake: to move or extend with the twisting motion of a snake.
- Sinuous: having many curves and turns.
Related Idioms
Uốn lượn: to undulate, to curve gracefully (often used for dancing, rivers, or dragons).
- Con rồng uốn lượn trên bầu trời. (The dragon undulates in the sky.)
Đường đi nước bước: (lit. the way to go, the steps to take) the ways of the world; the twists and turns of life's journey.
- Ông ấy hiểu rõ đường đi nước bước trong nghề này. (He understands the ins and outs of this profession.)