xoắn ốc
Definition
Adjective:
- Spiral: Having a continuous and gradually widening or tightening circular curve around a central point, like the shape of a coiled spring or a snail shell.
- Helical: Having the three-dimensional shape of a helix, like a corkscrew or a spiral staircase.
Noun:
- A spiral: The shape or form itself, characterized by a curve that winds around a fixed center point while moving progressively farther from or closer to it.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cầu thang xoắn ốc rất đẹp. (The spiral staircase is very beautiful.)
- Những làn khói bốc lên theo hình xoắn ốc. (The wisps of smoke rose in a spiral shape.)
- Noun:
- Vỏ ốc có dạng xoắn ốc. (The snail shell has a spiral form.)
- Họa tiết xoắn ốc thường thấy trong nghệ thuật. (Spiral patterns are common in art.)
Advanced Usage
"Lực xoắn ốc": In mechanics, this can refer to a torsional or helical force.
- Lực xoắn ốc làm hỏng trục. (The torsional force damaged the axle.)
"Phát triển theo hình xoắn ốc": A metaphorical use describing development that is cyclical but progressive, moving forward through recurring phases.
- Tri thức phát triển theo hình xoắn ốc. (Knowledge develops in a spiral.)
Variants and Related Words
Xoắn (v): to twist, to coil.
- Sợi dây bị xoắn lại. (The string got twisted.)
Ốc (n): snail; also used colloquially for screw.
- Con ốc sên. (The snail.)
Synonyms
- Spiral: coil, helix, whorl, volute.
- Helical: corkscrew, winding, coiled.
Related Idioms
"Xoắn như lò xo": To be as twisted as a spring; figuratively meaning to be very anxious, tense, or worried.
- Chờ kết quả, lòng tôi xoắn như lò xo. (Waiting for the results, I was as tense as a spring.)
"Đi vào vòng xoắn ốc": To enter a vicious spiral/circle; describing a situation that deteriorates in a self-reinforcing, negative cycle.
- Nợ nần đẩy họ vào vòng xoắn ốc khó thoát. (Debt pushed them into a vicious spiral that was hard to escape.)