Definition

1. Noun:
   • Cylindrical glutinous rice cake: A traditional Vietnamese food made from glutinous rice, often filled with mung bean paste and fatty pork, wrapped in banana leaves into a cylindrical shape, and boiled. It is typically eaten during the Lunar New Year (Tết) in Southern and Central Vietnam.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Mẹ tôi gói bánh tét để ăn Tết. (My mother makes bánh tét to eat for the Lunar New Year.)
  • Bánh tét nhà làm thường ngon hơn bánh mua ở chợ. (Homemade bánh tét is usually tastier than the ones bought at the market.)
  • Nhân bánh tét truyền thống là đậu xanh và thịt mỡ. (The traditional filling of bánh tét is mung bean and fatty pork.)

Advanced Usage

• Cultural Significance: Bánh tét is not just food but a cultural symbol of the Lunar New Year, representing family reunion and ancestral worship.

  • Bánh tét là lễ vật không thể thiếu trên bàn thờ tổ tiên ngày Tết. (Bánh tét is an indispensable offering on the ancestral altar during Tet.)

• Regional Variation: While similar to bánh chưng (square cake) of Northern Vietnam, bánh tét is characterized by its cylindrical shape and is more common in the South and Central regions.

  • Người miền Nam thường ăn bánh tét thay vì bánh chưng. (Southern people often eat bánh tét instead of bánh chưng.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bánh chưng (n): Square glutinous rice cake, the northern counterpart.
• Bánh tày (n, dialect): An older or regional term sometimes used synonymously with .

Synonyms

• Cylindrical sticky rice cake: A direct descriptive translation.
• Tet cake: A common translation emphasizing its association with the holiday.

Related Phrases

• Gói bánh tét (v): To wrap .
  • Cả gia đình quây quần để gói bánh tét. (The whole family gathers to wrap bánh tét.)
• Luộc bánh tét (v): To boil .
  • Phải luộc bánh tét trong nhiều giờ. (You have to boil bánh tét for many hours.)

Related Idioms

• Tròn như bánh tét: As round as a (used to describe something cylindrical and plump).
  • Củ khoai lang này tròn như bánh tét. (This sweet potato is as round as a bánh tét.)

noun

1. Cylindric glutinous rice cake (filled with green bean paste and fat pork)