Definition

1. 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.

2. 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.)

1. Flavoured meat soup
   • Mười voi không được bát nước xáo
     Much ado about nothing