Definitions

1. Verb:
   • To move back and forth, to travel between places: Refers to the physical act of going from one place to another and returning, or general movement within an area.
   • To have intimate relations, to associate closely: Refers to having a close, often romantic or sexual, relationship with someone. It implies regular contact and a personal connection beyond mere acquaintance.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To move/travel):
  • Tôi thường xuyên đi lại giữa Hà Nội và Sài Gòn vì công việc. (I frequently travel back and forth between Hanoi and Saigon for work.)
  • Con đường này đông xe cộ đi lại. (This road has a lot of traffic moving on it.)
• Verb (To have intimate relations):
  • Hai người họ đã đi lại với nhau được một thời gian. (The two of them have been in an intimate relationship for a while.)
  • Hai gia đình đi lại thân thiết với nhau. (The two families are on very close, intimate terms with each other.)

Advanced Usage

• "đi đi lại lại": To go back and forth repeatedly, to pace.
  • Anh ấy cứ đi đi lại lại trong phòng chờ, rất lo lắng. (He kept pacing back and forth in the waiting room, very anxious.)
• The meaning of "having intimate relations" is more colloquial and context-dependent. It often requires contextual clues to distinguish it from the neutral meaning of movement.

Variants and Related Words

• Đi (v): To go.
• Lại (v): To come; (adv) again, back.
• Quan hệ (n/v): Relation(ship); to have relations (can be formal or intimate depending on context).
• Giao thiệp (v): To associate, to have dealings with (more formal, often for business/social connections).

Synonyms

• Di chuyển: To move, to travel (for the movement meaning).
• Qua lại: To go back and forth, to have dealings (can imply both movement and association).
• Giao lưu: To interact, to exchange (focuses on social/cultural interaction).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Đi lại thăm nom: To visit and care for someone (by going to see them).
  • Con cái phải thường xuyên đi lại thăm nom bố mẹ già. (Children must regularly visit and care for their elderly parents.)

Related Idioms

• Đi lại như cái máy: To move/commute like a machine (implying a very routine, repetitive journey).
  • Cuộc sống của tôi mỗi ngày chỉ đi lại như cái máy: nhà - công ty - nhà. (My daily life is just like a machine: home - company - home.)
• Đi lại tay đôi: (Idiomatic) To be in a romantic couple, to go out together as a pair.
  • Sau vài lần hẹn hò, họ bắt đầu đi lại tay đôi. (After a few dates, they started going out as a couple.)

1. Be on intimate terms
   • Hai nhà đi lại với nhau dda(lâu
     Both families have long been on intimate terms
2. Have intimate relation with each other, entertain intimacy with
   • Họ đi lại với nhau, bất chấp những lời dị nghị
     They had intimate relations with each other in defiance of criticismc