Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Vegetarian: Refers to food, a diet, or a person that does not include meat, fish, or other animal products. Often associated with religious or spiritual practices.
   • Plain / Unseasoned: Describes food that is cooked without salt, spices, or flavorful ingredients like meat stock.
   • Unfertilized: Used in agriculture to describe crops grown without the use of manure or fertilizer.
   • Theoretical / Without Practical Demonstration: Describes teaching or learning that is purely theoretical, without experiments, demonstrations, or practical application.

2. Noun:

   • Buddhist Memorial Service: A ceremony or series of rituals performed by Buddhist monks to pray for the peace and salvation of a deceased person's soul.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Mẹ tôi nấu một bữa ăn chay rất ngon. (My mother cooked a very delicious vegetarian meal.)
  • Bánh chay thường nhạt hơn bánh mặn. (Plain cakes are usually blander than savory cakes.)
  • Trồng rau chay cho năng suất thấp hơn. (Growing vegetables without fertilizer yields a lower output.)
  • Giáo viên chỉ dạy chay về động cơ mà không cho học sinh xem thực tế. (The teacher only taught theoretically about the engine without letting students see a real one.)

• Noun:

  • Gia đình tổ chức làm chay cho cụ ông. (The family held a Buddhist memorial service for the old man.)

Advanced Usage

• The concept of "ăn chay" (eating vegetarian) can vary in strictness. Some interpretations exclude all animal products, while others may allow eggs, dairy, or certain types of seafood.
• "Cúng chay": To offer vegetarian food in a religious ceremony.
  • Nhà nào cũng cúng chay vào ngày rằm. (Every household offers vegetarian food on the full moon day.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ăn chay (v): To follow a vegetarian diet.
  • Bà ấy ăn chay trường đã mười năm. (She has been a permanent vegetarian for ten years.)
• Đồ chay (n): Vegetarian food, vegetarian dishes.
  • Nhà hàng này chuyên phục vụ đồ chay. (This restaurant specializes in vegetarian food.)
• Chay tịnh (adj): Ascetic; strictly pure, often in a religious sense involving abstinence.
• Dạy chay / Học chay (v): To teach/learn in a purely theoretical, bookish way without practice.

Synonyms

• Vegetarian: Meatless, plant-based (for food/diet).
• Plain: Bland, unseasoned, simple.
• Ceremony: Service, rite, ritual (for the noun form).

Related Idioms and Expressions

• Ăn mặn nói ngay còn hơn ăn chay nói dối: (Proverb) Literally "It's better to eat meat and speak truthfully than to eat vegetarian and lie." It emphasizes that honest character is more important than outward piety or rules.
• Chay như mèo: (Simile, informal) Literally "as vegetarian as a cat." Used humorously or sarcastically to describe someone who claims to be vegetarian but actually eats meat, implying hypocrisy.

adj

1. Vegetarian
   • ăn chay ngày rằm
     to keep to a vegetarian diet on the 15th of every month
   • nhà chùa ăn cơm chay
     bonzes are on a vegetarian diet
2. Plain (without salt or meat)
   • bánh chưng chay
     a plain sticky rice cake
3. dùng phụ sau động từ khi nói về cây trồng) Without manure, without fertilizer
   • thửa ruộng cấy chay
     a field grown with rice without manure

noun

1. Service (for the peace of some dead person's soul)