vọc
Definition
- Verb:
- To fiddle with / to play with (using hands): To touch, handle, or manipulate something, often with the hands, in a playful, curious, or sometimes aimless manner. It implies a physical interaction that is not serious or purposeful.
- To mess with / to tamper with: To interfere with something, potentially causing disorder or minor damage, often out of mischief or curiosity.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Đứa trẻ thích vọc nước trong chậu. (The child likes to fiddle with the water in the basin.)
- Đừng vọc cái máy tính của anh! (Don't mess with my computer!)
- Mèo con đang vọc cuộn chỉ. (The kitten is playing with the spool of thread.)
Advanced Usage
- The word often carries a connotation of playful, sometimes mischievous, manual interaction. It is frequently used when referring to children or animals playing with objects.
Variants and Related Words
- Nghịch vọc (v): A more emphatic or childish synonym meaning to play around with, to fiddle with mischievously.
- Bọn trẻ nghịch vọc đất cát cả buổi. (The kids fiddled around with the sand and dirt all afternoon.)
Synonyms
- Fiddle with: To touch or handle something restlessly or nervously.
- Tamper with: To interfere with something, often causing damage.
- Play with: To handle something for amusement.
Related Idioms
- Vắng chủ nhà gà vọc niêu cơm: Literally, "When the owner is away, the chickens mess with the rice pot." Equivalent to the English idiom "When the cat's away, the mice will play."
- Cứ đi vắng là bọn trẻ lại nghịch ngợm, đúng là vắng chủ nhà gà vọc niêu cơm. (Whenever I'm away, the kids misbehave; it's truly a case of when the cat's away, the mice will play.)