lá sắn
Definition
- Noun:
- Cassava leaf: The leaf of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta), a tropical shrub cultivated for its edible starchy root. The leaves are also used as a vegetable in some cuisines.
- (Obsolete/Botanical) Small water lily; frogbit: An older or botanical term referring to a type of small aquatic plant, such as a species of Hydrocharis (frogbit) or a small water lily (Nymphaea).
Usage Examples
Noun (Cassava leaf):
- Lá sắn có thể được luộc hoặc xào như một loại rau. (Cassava leaves can be boiled or stir-fried as a vegetable.)
- Bà tôi thường hái lá sắn từ trong vườn. (My grandmother often picks cassava leaves from the garden.)
Noun (Aquatic plant):
- Trong cuốn sách cổ, "lá sắn" được mô tả là một loại cây thủy sinh nhỏ. (In the old book, "lá sắn" is described as a small aquatic plant.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "lá sắn" is context-dependent. In modern, everyday Vietnamese, it almost exclusively refers to the leaf of the cassava plant. The aquatic plant meaning is largely archaic or found in specific botanical texts.
Variants and Related Words
- Rau sắn (n): Cassava leaves prepared as a vegetable dish.
- Hôm nay chúng tôi ăn rau sắn luộc. (Today we ate boiled cassava leaves.)
- Cây sắn (n): The cassava plant itself.
- Cây sắn được trồng để lấy củ. (The cassava plant is cultivated for its root.)
- Bột sắn (n): Tapioca starch, derived from the cassava root.
- Bột sắn dùng để làm chè. (Tapioca starch is used to make sweet soup.)
Synonyms
- Cassava leaf: The common modern meaning.
- Frogbit; Small water lily: For the obsolete botanical meaning ( or species).
Notes on Usage
- To avoid ambiguity, when referring to the aquatic plant, modern texts would typically use the specific botanical names (e.g., ) or descriptive terms like "bèo nhỏ" (small duckweed) instead of "lá sắn".
- The primary culinary and agricultural term in contemporary Vietnamese is the leaf of the (cassava plant).