Definition

Noun: 1. Dregs, sediment, residue: The solid impurities or particles that settle at the bottom of a liquid. 2. Lees: The sediment, especially of yeast and grape particles, left in a container after fermenting wine. 3. (Figurative) The worthless or leftover part; scraps: Used metaphorically to describe something of the lowest quality or what remains after the best part is taken.

Usage Examples

• Sediment/Dregs:
  • Ly cà phê này có nhiều cặn. (This cup of coffee has a lot of sediment.)
  • Hãy lọc nước để loại bỏ cặn. (Filter the water to remove the impurities.)
• Lees:
  • Cặn rượu vang thường được lọc ra trước khi đóng chai. (Wine lees are usually filtered out before bottling.)
• Figurative (leftovers/scraps):
  • Anh ta chỉ nhận được phần cặn bã của thỏa thuận. (He only got the dregs / worst part of the deal.)

Advanced Usage

• Cặn bã: (noun) Dregs, scum, riffraff. This compound emphasizes worthlessness, often referring to immoral people or the most undesirable elements of society.
  • Bọn cặn bã xã hội. (The scum of society.)
• Cơm thừa canh cặn: (idiomatic noun phrase) Literally "leftover rice and cold soup dregs". It describes a miserable, subservient life of hardship and leftovers.
  • Cuộc sống cơm thừa canh cặn. (A life of drudgery and scraps.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lắng cặn: (verb phrase) To settle, to form sediment.
  • Để nước lắng cặn rồi hãy dùng. (Let the water settle first before using it.)
• Cặn kẽ: (adjective) Meticulous, thorough, detailed. (Note: This is a separate word; 'cặn' here does not mean 'sediment').
  • Giải thích một cách cặn kẽ. (Explain in a thorough manner.)

Synonyms

• Bã: (noun) Residue, dregs (often from something pressed or extracted, like tea leaves, coffee grounds).
• Cáu: (noun) Scale, incrustation (hard sediment, like limescale in a kettle).
• Lắng: (noun/verb) Sediment; to settle.

Related Idioms

• Uống nước chừa cặn: (verb phrase) Literally "to drink water but leave the dregs". It means to act with moderation, to leave a margin, or not to push things to the extreme.
  • Trong đàm phán, nên uống nước chừa cặn. (In negotiation, one should know when to stop / not drain the cup to the dregs.)

noun

1. Dregs, lees, sediment
   • uống nước chừa cặn
     never drain a cup to the dregs
   • cơm thừa canh cặn
     table leavings (left to hirelings)