xoay lưng
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To turn one's back: To physically rotate the body so that one's back faces a person, object, or direction. This action often signifies ignoring, rejecting, abandoning, or showing disrespect.
- To abandon / to leave behind: To figuratively leave a situation, person, or place, often implying a deliberate act of moving on or cutting ties.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Cô ấy đã xoay lưng và bước đi. (She turned her back and walked away.)
- Anh ta không thể xoay lưng lại với gia đình mình. (He cannot turn his back on his family.)
- Họ đã xoay lưng với quá khứ để bắt đầu một cuộc sống mới. (They turned their backs on the past to start a new life.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used in a figurative and emotional context to describe betrayal, rejection, or a decisive separation.
- Xoay lưng với đồng đội means to abandon one's comrades, implying betrayal.
- Xoay lưng lại với thực tế means to turn one's back on reality, implying willful ignorance.
Variants and Related Words
- Quay lưng (verb phrase): A near-synonymous phrase with the same core meanings of "to turn one's back" physically or figuratively.
- Ông ấy quay lưng lại với lời đề nghị đó. (He turned his back on that offer.)
Synonyms
- Turn away: To stop facing someone/something.
- Abandon: To leave completely and finally.
- Reject: To refuse to accept, consider, or be connected with.
- Desert: To leave someone without help or support.
Related Idioms
- Xoay lưng lại với sự thật: To turn one's back on the truth.
- Anh ấy đang xoay lưng lại với sự thật. (He is turning his back on the truth.)
- Xoay lưng lại với nhau: To turn one's backs on each other (often after a conflict).
- Hai người bạn cũ đã xoay lưng lại với nhau. (The two old friends turned their backs on each other.)