nước xáo
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- Flavored meat soup: A clear, aromatic broth or soup made by simmering meat, typically with fragrant herbs like Vietnamese coriander ("rau răm" or polygonum odoratum), resulting in a light, flavorful liquid often used as a base or consumed directly.
Noun (figurative usage):
- Something trivial or insignificant: Used idiomatically to represent something of little value or substance, especially when contrasted with great effort or expectation.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- Mẹ tôi nấu một bát nước xáo gà thơm ngon. (My mother cooked a delicious bowl of flavored chicken soup.)
- Nước xáo thường được dùng để chan cơm. (The flavored meat soup is often poured over rice.)
Figurative:
- Dự án đó cuối cùng chỉ là bát nước xáo. (That project turned out to be just a trivial thing.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is most famously used in the Vietnamese idiom "mười voi không được bát nước xáo", which translates directly as "ten elephants are not worth a bowl of ". This corresponds to the English idiom "much ado about nothing" or "a mountain labored and brought forth a mouse", criticizing a disproportionate effort for a meager result.
Variants and Related Words
- Canh (n): A general term for a clear, broth-based Vietnamese soup, often with vegetables and meat or seafood. is a specific type of .
- Nước dùng (n): Broth or stock, which is a more neutral base compared to the seasoned .
- Súp (n): Soup, a more general, modern term often for thicker, Western-style soups.
Synonyms
- Broth: A savory liquid made from simmering meat.
- Clear soup: A light, thin soup.
- Trifle: Something of little importance (for the figurative sense).
Related Idioms
- Mười voi không được bát nước xáo: Much ado about nothing; Great effort for a small result.
- Họ bàn cãi cả tuần, mười voi không được bát nước xáo. (They argued for a whole week, much ado about nothing.)
- Flavoured meat soup
- Mười voi không được bát nước xáoMuch ado about nothing