Definition

Noun: 1. Gruel, porridge, congee: A liquid or semi-liquid food made by boiling rice (or sometimes other grains) in a large amount of water or broth until it breaks down and thickens. 2. Soup: Can refer broadly to a thin, soup-like dish, though it is distinct from clear broths (canh) or Western-style soups (xúp).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Mẹ nấu một nồi cháo gà cho em bé. (Mother cooked a pot of chicken porridge for the baby.)
  • Khi bị ốm, tôi thường chỉ muốn ăn cháo trắng. (When I'm sick, I usually only want to eat plain rice porridge.)
  • Quán này bán cháo sườn rất ngon. (This shop sells very delicious pork rib porridge.)

Advanced Usage & Idioms

• Ăn cháo đá bát: (Lit: To eat the porridge and kick the bowl) To be ungrateful; to bite the hand that feeds you.
  • Anh ta được giúp đỡ rồi lại quay lưng, đúng là ăn cháo đá bát. (He was helped and then turned his back, truly biting the hand that feeds him.)
• Cơm hàng cháo chợ: (Lit: Restaurant rice, market porridge) A precarious, unsettled life of eating out, not having a stable home-cooked meal.
  • Công việc đi công tác liên tục khiến anh ấy sống cảnh cơm hàng cháo chợ. (The constant business trips force him to live an unsettled life.)
• Tiền trao cháo múc: (Lit: Money handed over, porridge ladled out) A transaction where goods/services are delivered immediately upon payment; often implies a lack of deeper commitment or guarantee.
  • Hợp đồng đó kiểu tiền trao cháo múc, xong việc là thôi. (That contract is a straightforward cash-and-carry deal; once it's done, it's over.)
• Thuộc như cháo: (Lit: To know [something] like porridge) To know something by heart, perfectly, or like the back of one's hand.
  • Cô ấy thuộc bài thơ đó như cháo. (She knows that poem by heart.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cháo hoa: A very thin, smooth rice porridge, often for infants or the ill.
• Cháo lòng / Cháo lòng lợn: Porridge with pork offal (intestines, heart, liver, etc.).
• Cháo cá: Fish porridge.
• Cháo trai: Clam porridge.
• Nấu cháo: To cook porridge.
• Bát cháo: A bowl of porridge.

Synonyms

• Chè: A sweet dessert soup or pudding, distinct from savory .
• Xúp / Soup: Borrowed word for Western-style soups, which are usually not rice-based.
• Canh: A clear broth or soup with vegetables/meat, eaten with rice, not a main dish like .

Related Phrases & Compound Terms (Listed Separately)

• Cháo dinh dưỡng: Nutritious porridge (often sold as street food for children).
• Cháo đậu xanh: Mung bean porridge.
• Cháo yến mạch: Oatmeal/oat porridge (a modern usage).
• Màu cháo lòng: (Adj) A dirty greyish-brown color, like the color of offal porridge.

noun

1. Gruel, soup
   • cháo cá
     fish gruel
   • cháo lòng
     chitterling gruel
   • màu cháo lòng
     chitterling gruel coloured, dirty grey
   • thuộc như cháo
     to know by heart, to have at one's fingertips