Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To gather around / to crowd around: To move together and form a group surrounding a person, object, or point of interest, often out of curiosity, concern, or shared focus.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Bọn trẻ xúm quanh người bán kẹo. (The children gathered around the candy seller.)
  • Mọi người xúm quanh để giúp đỡ người bị ngã. (People crowded around to help the person who fell.)
  • Các nhà báo xúm quanh vị diễn giả. (The journalists swarmed around the speaker.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies spontaneous, eager, or animated gathering. It can carry a neutral, positive, or slightly chaotic connotation depending on context.
• It is commonly used to describe the action of a group, not an individual.

Variants and Related Words

• Tụ tập (v): to assemble, to congregate. This is more general and does not necessarily imply forming a circle or surrounding something.

  • Họ tụ tập tại quảng trường. (They assembled at the square.)

• Vây quanh (v): to surround, to encircle. This can have a more deliberate or strategic connotation.

  • Cảnh sát vây quanh tòa nhà. (The police surrounded the building.)

Synonyms

• Cluster around: To form a close group around something.
• Swarm around: To move around in a large, busy group.
• Converge on: To move towards and meet at a common point.

Related Idioms

• Xúm xít quanh: A more colloquial and intensive variant of "xúm quanh," emphasizing a tighter, more bustling gathering.
  • Mọi người xúm xít quanh màn hình để xem kết quả. (Everyone huddled closely around the screen to see the results.)