Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Completely, thoroughly, utterly: Used to emphasize that something is done to an absolute degree, often with a sense of finality or totality. This word is considered literary and somewhat archaic in modern Vietnamese.
   • Clean, spotless: In some contexts, it can carry the connotation of being completely clean or pure, though this usage is less common and primarily found through its connection to the word "sạch."

Usage Examples

• Adjective: (The room was cleaned spotlessly.) (He refused the offer outright.) (All doubts were utterly erased.)

Advanced Usage

• "sành sanh" as an intensifier: The word is primarily used as an adverb-like adjective to intensify the verb or adjective it modifies, stressing completeness. (She completely forgot her promise.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sạch (adj): Clean; completely. This is the more common and modern root word. "Sành sanh" is an emphatic, literary variant derived from "sạch." (This table is clean.)

Synonyms

• Hoàn toàn (adv): Completely, entirely.
• Tuyệt đối (adv): Absolutely.
• Sạch sẽ (adj): Clean, neat.

Notes on Usage

• Register: "Sành sanh" is a literary word. It is rarely used in everyday spoken Vietnamese and is more likely to be encountered in formal writing, poetry, or classical texts.
• Meaning Focus: Its core meaning is about totality and thoroughness, not physical cleanliness, even though it is etymologically linked to "sạch" (clean). It describes the manner or degree of an action (e.g., forgetting completely, refusing outright).

1. xem sạch