Definition

Adjective: - Overcooked to the point of being very soft and tender: Describes food, especially meat or vegetables, that has been cooked for a long time until it is extremely soft, often falling apart easily. This can be a desired texture in certain dishes or an unintended result of cooking for too long.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Thịt kho phải ninh cho chín nhừ mới ngon. (Braised pork must be stewed until overdone/very tender to be delicious.)
  • Rau củ hầm chín nhừ rất dễ ăn cho người già. (Stewed vegetables that are very soft are easy to eat for the elderly.)
  • Nồi canh xương bị nấu chín nhừ mất ngon. (The pot of bone soup was cooked to mush and lost its flavor.)

Advanced Usage

• Implied Process: The term often implies a slow, prolonged cooking method like stewing, braising, or simmering.
  • Món này ngon là nhờ ninh chín nhừ. (This dish is delicious thanks to being simmered until falling apart.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chín dừ: A variant form with the same meaning as "chín nhừ".
• Chín mềm: Cooked until soft (can be a synonym, though "chín nhừ" implies a greater degree of softness).
• Chín tới: Cooked just right, al dente (antonym in context).
• Nát nhừ: Mashed or pulverized into a soft mass (can describe food or other things).

Synonyms

• Nát bấy: Mashed to pieces, pulpy.
• Mềm nhũn: Very soft, mushy.

Related Phrases

• Ninh nhừ: To stew/braise until very tender.
  • Phải ninh nhừ thịt bò trong vài giờ. (You must stew until very tender the beef for a few hours.)
• Hầm nhừ: To simmer/stew until very tender (similar to "ninh nhừ").
  • Món thịt kho tàu được hầm nhừ. (The Chinese-style braised pork is simmered until very tender.)

Related Idioms

• While not a direct idiom, the state of being "chín nhừ" can be used metaphorically in casual speech to describe a person who is extremely tired or physically exhausted.
  • Làm việc cả ngày, tôi mệt nát người (mệt nhừ). (Working all day, I am dead tired.) (Note: "mệt nhừ" is a common colloquial extension of this concept.)

1. Overdone