Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Dry; dried up: Describes a body of water, container, or well that contains little or no water.
   • Exhausted; depleted; nearly used up: Describes a non-liquid resource, supply, or abstract concept that is almost finished.
   • Shallow; superficial: Describes thoughts, ideas, or relationships that lack depth or profoundness.
   • Terrestrial; land-based: Describes something that exists or lives on land, as opposed to in water.

2. Verb:

   • To dry up; to become empty: The process of a liquid, typically water, being used up or evaporating.
   • To exhaust; to use up completely: The process of depleting a resource or supply.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Giếng cạn. (The well is dry.)
  • Tiền đã cạn. (The money is exhausted/used up.)
  • Đó là một suy nghĩ cạn. (That is a shallow thought.)
  • Rau muống cạn. (Land-grown water spinach.)

• Verb:

  • Nước trong hồ đang cạn dần. (The water in the lake is gradually drying up.)
  • Chúng tôi đã cạn sạch thức ăn. (We have completely exhausted our food.)

Advanced Usage

• "cạn lời": to be at a loss for words; to have said everything one can say.

  • Tôi giải thích mãi mà anh ấy không hiểu, thật sự tôi đã cạn lời. (I explained repeatedly but he didn't understand, I am truly at a loss for words.)

• "cạn chén" / "cạn ly": to empty one's glass (often in a toast); to drink up.

  • Mọi người nâng ly và cạn chén. (Everyone raised their glasses and drank up.)

• "cạn tàu ráo máng" (idiomatic): to cut off all ties or feelings completely and decisively.

  • Sau cuộc cãi vã, họ chia tay một cách cạn tàu ráo máng. (After the argument, they broke up decisively, cutting all ties.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trên cạn (prepositional phrase): on land; ashore.

  • Con cá nằm trên cạn. (The fish is on land.)

• Khô cạn (adj): parched; completely dry.

  • Dòng sông khô cạn vào mùa hè. (The river becomes parched in the summer.)

• Cạn kiệt (adj/verb): to be depleted; to exhaust (often for resources).

  • Nguồn tài nguyên đang bị cạn kiệt. (Natural resources are being depleted.)

Synonyms

• Dry: having no or lacking water.
• Exhausted: completely used up.
• Depleted: reduced in amount or quantity.
• Shallow: lacking depth.

Related Idioms

• Thuận vợ thuận chồng, tát bể Đông cũng cạn: Literally "If husband and wife are in harmony, they can bail dry the Eastern sea." Means that with unity and cooperation, any great task can be accomplished.

• Cá trên cạn: Literally "a fish on land." Describes someone feeling completely out of their element or in an unsuitable situation.

  • Làm việc với máy tính, tôi như cá trên cạn. (Working with computers, I am like a fish out of water.)

adj & verb

1. (To go) dry
   • giếng cạn
     a dry well
   • đèn cạn dầu
     the lamp is dry; there is no more oil in the lamp
   • nồi cơm cạn
     the pot of rice is dry; there is no more water in the pot of rice
2. Used up, nearly exhausted
   • cạn vốn
     the capital is nearly exhausted
   • nguồn vui không bao giờ cạn
     an inexhaustible source of joy
   • cạn lời
     to say everything which one has to say
   • cạn chén
     to drink up (one's glass of wine)