vẩy
Definition
Verb:
- To flick; to shake off: To move one's hand or an object with a quick, light motion to remove something, such as water or dust.
- To wave; to flap: To move something, like a hand or a fin, up and down or back and forth.
Noun:
- (Dialectal) Scale: A small, thin, hard plate that covers the skin of fish and reptiles. (Note: The standard word for "scale" in Vietnamese is "vảy". "Vẩy" in this sense is considered a dialectal variant.)
Usage Examples
Verb:
- Cô ấy vẩy nước từ tay. (She flicked the water off her hands.)
- Chú chim vẩy cánh. (The bird flapped its wings.)
- Anh ấy vẩy tay chào tạm biệt. (He waved his hand to say goodbye.)
Noun (Dialectal):
- Con cá có lớp vẩy rất cứng. (The fish has a layer of very hard scales.)
Advanced Usage
"vẩy tay": to wave a hand.
- Đứa trẻ vẩy tay với mẹ. (The child waved at his mother.)
"vẩy vẩy": to flick or shake repeatedly.
- Nó vẩy vẩy tờ giấy cho khô mực. (He kept flicking the paper to dry the ink.)
Variants and Related Words
Vảy (n): The standard word for "scale" (of a fish, reptile).
- Làm sạch vảy cá trước khi nấu. (Clean the fish scales before cooking.)
Vẫy (v): To wave (often used for calling or greeting over a distance). This is a distinct word with a different tone.
- Cô ấy vẫy tay gọi taxi. (She waved her hand to hail a taxi.)
Synonyms
- Flick: to move or hit with a quick, light motion.
- Shake: to move back and forth or up and down quickly.
- Wave: to move one's hand or an object back and forth.
- Flap: to move wings or arms up and down.
Notes on Usage
- The primary and most common use of "vẩy" is as a verb meaning "to flick" or "to wave."
- When used as a noun meaning "scale," "vẩy" is dialectal. The standard and universally understood term is "vảy". Learners should use "vảy" for clarity when referring to fish or reptile scales.
- Do not confuse "vẩy" (flick/wave) with "vẫy" (to wave, often for attention), which are separate words distinguished by tone.