Definition

Noun: 1. A terracotta jar: A container, typically made of fired clay (terracotta), with a small mouth, a bulging body, and a narrow base, smaller than a large earthenware jar (chum). It is traditionally used for storing and fermenting food items like fish sauce (nước mắm) or pickled fish (mắm).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Bà tôi thường đựng nước mắm trong một cái chĩnh. (My grandmother often keeps fish sauce in a terracotta jar.)
  • Trong kho có vài chĩnh tương đang lên men. (There are a few jars of fermenting bean paste in the storeroom.)

Advanced Usage

• Chuột sa chĩnh gạo: An idiom literally meaning "a mouse falling into a rice jar." It figuratively describes someone who lands in a very fortunate situation, especially one involving unexpected wealth or abundance (e.g., to land in a mint of money, to get a windfall).
  • Anh ta trúng số độc đắc, đúng là chuột sa chĩnh gạo. (He won the jackpot; it's truly like a mouse falling into a rice jar.)
• Mưa như cầm chĩnh đổ: An idiom literally meaning "to rain as if pouring from a jar." It is used to describe very heavy rain (e.g., to rain cats and dogs).
  • Trời đang mưa như cầm chĩnh đổ, hãy ở trong nhà. (It's raining cats and dogs; stay indoors.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chum (noun): A large earthenware jar, bigger than a .
• Vại (noun): A wide-mouthed earthenware jar or crock.
• Lọ (noun): A vase or a small jar, often with a narrower neck.

Synonyms

• Lọ gốm (ceramic jar)
• Bình sành (earthenware pot)

Related Idioms

• Chuột sa chĩnh gạo: Explained above.
• Mưa như cầm chĩnh đổ: Explained above.

noun

1. Terracotta jar
   • chĩnh đựng mắm
     a pickled fish jar
   • chuột sa chĩnh gạo
     to land in a mint of money, to get a windfall
   • mưa như cầm chĩnh đổ
     to rain cats and dogs