Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To prepare a meal / to cook rice: The primary meaning refers to the act of cooking food, specifically preparing cooked rice and accompanying dishes for a meal. It centers on the core activity of meal preparation.
   • To make food ready for eating: It describes the complete process of creating a meal, from cooking to having it ready to serve.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Mẹ tôi đang làm cơm cho cả nhà. (My mother is preparing a meal for the whole family.)
  • Chị ấy làm cơm rất ngon. (She cooks very delicious meals.)
  • Tối nay tôi phải về sớm để làm cơm. (I have to go home early tonight to cook dinner.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies preparing a proper, home-cooked meal, not just a simple snack. It is a common and essential domestic task.
• It can be used in a broader sense to mean taking care of meal preparation as a duty or chore.

Variants and Related Words

• Nấu cơm (v): to cook rice; a more specific term for the act of cooking the rice itself.

  • Anh ấy đang học cách nấu cơm. (He is learning how to cook rice.)

• Chuẩn bị bữa ăn (v): to prepare a meal; a more formal equivalent.

  • Chúng tôi cùng nhau chuẩn bị bữa ăn tối. (We prepared the dinner meal together.)

Synonyms

• Prepare a meal: to make food ready for eating.
• Cook (a meal): to prepare food by heating it.

Related Idioms

• Làm cơm tẻ: Literally "to cook plain rice," sometimes used to mean doing routine, everyday work.
  • Công việc ấy chỉ là làm cơm tẻ hàng ngày thôi. (That job is just the daily grind.)