Definition

1. Noun:

   • Dregs, sediment, lees: The solid residue that settles at the bottom of a liquid.
   • The third trigram (sign) of the Bát Quái (Eight Trigrams): In ancient Vietnamese cosmology, one of the eight fundamental symbols.

2. Verb:

   • To be annoyed or feel discomfort (by something hard or protruding): To experience physical irritation or pain because an object is pressing against the body.
   • To obstruct, to hinder: To block or get in the way of something.
   • To deduct, to offset (a debt or amount): To subtract one amount from another, especially in a financial context.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Phải lọc cho hết cấn trước khi uống. (You must filter out all the dregs before drinking.)
  • Quẻ Cấn tượng trưng cho núi. (The Gen trigram symbolizes the mountain.)

• Verb:

  • Nằm trên giường có hòn sỏi cấn vào lưng. (Lying on a bed with a pebble pressing annoyingly into one's back.)
  • Cột điện cấn ngay lối ra vào. (The electricity pole obstructs the entrance.)
  • Số tiền này sẽ được cấn trừ vào khoản nợ cũ. (This amount of money will be deducted from the old debt.)

Advanced Usage

• "Cấn cổ": To have something stuck in one's throat (literally or figuratively).

  • Câu nói đó khiến anh ấy cấn cổ, không thể đáp lại. (That statement left him speechless, unable to reply.)

• "Cấn" (in dialectal usage): Refers to a pregnant female animal.

  • Con lợn nái đã cấn. (The sow is pregnant.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cặn (n): A more common synonym for "dregs, sediment".

  • Cặn cà phê (coffee grounds)

• Cản (v): To prevent, to obstruct. (Note: Different tone and often used for active prevention).

  • Cản trở giao thông (to obstruct traffic)

Synonyms

• Lắng (v): To settle (as in sediment).
• Vướng (v): To get caught on, to be hindered by.
• Trừ (v): To subtract, to deduct.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Cấn trừ: To offset, to deduct.
  • Hai bên thống nhất cấn trừ các khoản cho nhau. (The two parties agreed to offset their respective amounts.)

Related Idioms

• Cấn tức: To feel stifled or choked with anger/emotion (less common).
  • Nghe tin ấy, ông ấy cấn tức không nói nên lời. (Hearing that news, he was choked with emotion and couldn't speak.)

noun

1. The third sign of the eight-sign figure
2. Dregs, lees, sediment

verb

1. To be annoyed (by something pricking)
   • hai tấm ván kê không bằng, nằm cấn đau lưng lắm
     as the two boards were unevenly placed, he was annoyed and felt a pain in his back
2. To obstruct, to hinder
   • cấn ngôi nhà nên không thấy rõ cánh đồng
     because a house obstructed his view, he could not have a clear sight of the field
3. To deduct