Definition

1. Noun:
   • Incense: A substance that produces a fragrant smoke when burned, often used in religious ceremonies, meditation, or to create a pleasant aroma. This is the primary and most common meaning.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Mỗi sáng, bà tôi thắp một nén nhang trên bàn thờ. (Every morning, my grandmother lights a stick of incense on the altar.)
  • Căn phòng có mùi nhang rất dễ chịu. (The room has a very pleasant smell of incense.)
  • Chúng tôi mua nhang ở cửa hàng tạp hóa. (We buy incense at the grocery store.)

Advanced Usage

• "khói nhang": incense smoke.

  • Khói nhang tỏa ra mùi thơm nhẹ nhàng. (The incense smoke gives off a gentle fragrance.)

• "tàn nhang": incense ash.

  • Anh ấy gạt tàn nhang vào chiếc đĩa nhỏ. (He flicked the incense ash into a small dish.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hương: This is a Sino-Vietnamese synonym for "nhang," more formal and often used in compound words or literary contexts. While "nhang" is more common in everyday Southern Vietnamese speech, "hương" is universally understood.

  • Văn khấn thường nhắc đến "hương án" (incense altar). (Prayers often mention the "incense altar".)

• Nén nhang / Cây nhang: A stick of incense.

• Bó nhang: A bundle of incense sticks.

Synonyms

• Trầm hương: agarwood incense (a specific, often higher-quality type of incense).
• Hương trầm: another term for agarwood incense.

Related Phrases

• Thắp nhang / Đốt nhang: to light / burn incense.

  • Mọi người thắp nhang để tỏ lòng thành kính. (People light incense to show respect.)

• Cúng nhang: to offer incense (in a ritual).

  • Gia đình cúng nhang vào ngày rằm. (The family offers incense on the full moon day.)

Related Idioms

• "Thơm như nhang trầm": (As fragrant as agarwood incense) - Used to describe a very pleasant and precious fragrance.
  • Mùi hoa mộc lan trong vườn thơm như nhang trầm. (The scent of magnolia in the garden is as fragrant as agarwood incense.)

noun

1. incense
   • đốt nhang
     to burn incense