Definition

1. Onomatopoeia / Adverb:

   • Like a shot, in a flash: Describes an action that happens extremely quickly, in an instant, often with a sense of something zipping or whizzing by.
   • To whiz, to zip: Imitates the sound or describes the motion of something moving through the air at high speed.

2. Particle (colloquial):

   • In a jiffy, before you know it: Used to emphasize that a change of state or an action was completed remarkably fast.

Usage Examples

• Onomatopoeia / Adverb:
  • Chiếc xe máy chạy vèo qua mặt tôi. (The motorbike zipped past me.)
  • Viên đạn vèo trên đầu. (The bullet whizzed overhead.)
• Particle:
  • Vèo một cái, anh ấy đã xong việc. (In a flash, he was finished with the work.)
  • Mẩu giấy cho vào lửa cháy vèo. (The piece of paper thrown into the fire burned up in an instant.)

Advanced Usage

• "vèo vèo": The reduplicated form intensifies the meaning, translating to "very rapidly," "whizzing repeatedly," or "at great speed."
  • Xe cộ chạy vèo vèo trên đường cao tốc. (Vehicles sped very rapidly on the highway.)
  • Gió thổi vèo vèo qua khe cửa. (The wind whistled/whizzed through the door crack.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bay vèo (v): To fly off/away quickly.
  • Con chim bay vèo khỏi cành cây. (The bird flew off the branch in a flash.)

Synonyms

• Nhanh như chớp: Quick as lightning.
• Thoắt cái: In a trice, in the blink of an eye.
• Xẹt qua: To streak past.

Related Idioms

• Vèo như tên bắn: As fast as an arrow shot; extremely fast.
  • Cậu bé chạy vèo như tên bắn. (The boy ran as fast as an arrow shot.)

noun

1. like a shot, in a flash