Definition

1. Verb:
   • To marinate: To soak food, especially meat or fish, in a seasoned liquid mixture (often containing salt, fish sauce, herbs, or spices) to flavor it and sometimes to preserve it before cooking.
   • To scent / To aromatize: To infuse one substance with the fragrance of another by storing them together in a sealed container, allowing the aroma to transfer.
   • To embalm: To treat a dead body with chemicals, oils, or spices to prevent decay and preserve it.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tôi cần ướp thịt gà với tỏi và sả trước khi nướng. (I need to marinate the chicken with garlic and lemongrass before grilling.)
  • Chè xanh thường được ướp với hoa nhài. (Green tea is often scented with jasmine flowers.)
  • Xác ướp Ai Cập được ướp rất cẩn thận. (Egyptian mummies were embalmed very carefully.)

Advanced Usage

• "ướp lạnh": to refrigerate, to chill (literally, 'to marinate cold').
  • Hải sản tươi sống phải được ướp lạnh ngay. (Fresh seafood must be refrigerated immediately.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ướp muối (v): to salt, to cure with salt.

  • Cá được ướp muối để bảo quản lâu hơn. (The fish is salted to preserve it longer.)

• Tẩm ướp (v): to marinate and season (a more comprehensive term for the marinating process).

  • Bí quyết món ngon nằm ở khâu tẩm ướp. (The secret to the delicious dish lies in the marinating step.)

Synonyms

• Marinate: To soak in a seasoned liquid.
• Infuse: To instill a quality, such as flavor or scent.
• Preserve: To treat food to prevent spoilage.
• Embalm: To preserve a corpse.

Related Idioms

• Ướp xác: To embalm a body (used literally, not as a common idiom with figurative meaning).

verb

1. to scent to mix with to embalm