vật vờ

Khói bếp vật vờ bay lên từ nóc nhà.

Definition

1. Adjective / Adverb:
   • To drift; to float aimlessly: Describes moving slowly, lightly, and without a clear direction or purpose, often applied to smoke, mist, or a wandering person.
   • To linger; to hover: To remain or persist in a place or state in a faint, barely-there manner.
   • Precarious; unstable; barely existing: Describes a life or state that is uncertain, fragile, or listless, lacking vitality or secure foundation.

Usage Examples

• Adjective / Adverb:
  • Làn khói vật vờ trên không. (A wisp of smoke drifts in the air.)
  • Bóng ma ấy cứ vật vờ trong căn nhà cũ. (That ghost keeps lingering in the old house.)
  • Sau cơn bạo bệnh, ông ấy chỉ sống vật vờ. (After the severe illness, he merely exists listlessly.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to describe a state of semi-consciousness or extreme fatigue.
  • Cô ấy vật vờ trong cơn sốt. (She was drifting in and out of consciousness during the fever.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vơ vẩn (adj/adv): to wander aimlessly, to loiter. It shares the sense of purposeless movement but is less commonly used for intangible things like smoke or spirits.
  • Đứa trẻ vơ vẩn ngoài đường. (The child wanders aimlessly in the street.)

Synonyms

• Drift: to be carried slowly by air or water.
• Linger: to stay in a place longer than necessary.
• Listless: lacking energy or enthusiasm.
• Precarious: not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.

Related Idioms

• Sống vật vờ: to lead a precarious, hand-to-mouth, or listless existence.
  • Không có việc làm, anh ta phải sống vật vờ qua ngày. (Without a job, he has to live a precarious, day-to-day existence.)