Definition

1. Noun:
   • A plant species: "Cửu lí hương" is the Vietnamese name for the plant Ruta graveolens, commonly known in English as rue or herb-of-grace. It is an aromatic herb with small yellow flowers and bluish-green leaves, known for its strong, bitter scent and historical use in traditional medicine and cooking.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cửu lí hương là một loại thảo dược có mùi rất đặc trưng. (Rue is an herb with a very distinctive smell.)
  • Lá của cây cửu lí hương thường được dùng trong một số bài thuốc cổ truyền. (The leaves of the rue plant are often used in some traditional remedies.)

Advanced Usage

• Botanical/Literary Context: The name "cửu lí hương" (literally "nine-mile fragrance") poetically refers to the plant's strong scent, believed to carry over a long distance. It is sometimes used in literary or descriptive contexts to evoke this imagery.
  • Mùi hương nồng nặc của cửu lí hương lan tỏa khắp khu vườn. (The pungent fragrance of rue permeated the entire garden.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rue (n): The standard English common name for the plant.
• Herb-of-grace (n): A less common, traditional English name for rue.
• (n): The scientific (Latin) name for the species.

Synonyms

• Common rue: Another English name for the same plant.
• Garden rue: Emphasizes its cultivation in gardens.

Related Phrases

• Dầu cửu lí hương: Rue oil, an essential oil extracted from the plant.
  • Dầu cửu lí hương có công dụng xua đuổi côn trùng. (Rue oil has insect-repelling properties.)

Related Idioms

• There are no widely recognized idioms in Vietnamese that specifically feature the term "cửu lí hương." The term is primarily used in botanical, medicinal, or descriptive contexts.