vò tơ
Definition
- Verb (literary):
- To become entangled or snarled (like silk threads): The primary meaning describes threads, especially silk, becoming twisted, knotted, and confused into a messy, inseparable state.
- To be in a state of intricate complication or distress: Used figuratively to describe a situation, affair, or state of mind that is deeply tangled, perplexing, and difficult to resolve.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Sợi tơ rối bời, vò tơ khó gỡ. (The silk threads are a mess, tangled and hard to unravel.)
- Mối tình đòi đoạn vò tơ. (The love affair was repeatedly broken and entangled.)
- Công việc ấy vò tơ, cần một người giải quyết thấu đáo. (That matter is intricately complicated and requires a thorough person to resolve it.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is predominantly found in classical and literary Vietnamese, especially in poetry, to evoke a sense of beautiful yet painful complexity, often related to emotions or fate.
Variants and Related Words
- Rối tơ (v): to be tangled (like silk); a state of disorder.
- Mớ tơ này rối tơ rồi. (This bundle of silk is all tangled.)
Synonyms
- Entangle: to twist together into a tangled mass.
- Snarl: to become tangled or complicated.
- Complicate: to make intricate or difficult.
Related Idioms
- Tơ vò: This is an inverted form of "vò tơ" with the same meaning, used in poetic language to describe entanglement.
- Mối tình tơ vò. (An entangled love affair.)