Definitions

1. Verb:

   • To be slightly burned/singed/scorched: Refers to something being superficially burned on the outside, often by heat or fire, without being completely charred.
   • To be lightly tanned/burned (skin): Specifically for skin, it means to be slightly reddened or darkened by sun exposure.

2. Adjective:

   • Slightly burned/singed/scorched: Describes the state of having a superficial burn.
   • Lightly tanned/sunburned (skin): Describes skin that is slightly red or dark from the sun.

3. Noun:

   • Layer of burned rice: Refers to the crispy, often slightly charred layer of rice at the bottom of a pot (a common and sometimes desirable part of cooked rice).

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Mái tóc cậu bé bị sém vì chơi đùa quá gần ngọn lửa trại. (The boy's hair was singed because he played too close to the campfire.)
  • Là quần áo ở nhiệt độ quá cao sẽ khiến vải bị sém. (Ironing clothes at too high a temperature will cause the fabric to get scorched.)
  • Da cô ấy bị sém nắng sau một ngày dài ở bãi biển. (Her skin was lightly sunburned after a long day at the beach.)

• Adjective:

  • Mùi khét từ chiếc áo sém lan tỏa trong phòng. (The smell of burning from the scorched shirt spread in the room.)
  • Làn da sém nắng của anh ấy chứng tỏ một kỳ nghỉ hè đầy nắng. (His sun-tanned skin proved a sunny summer holiday.)

• Noun:

  • Nhiều người rất thích ăn phần cơm sém giòn ở đáy nồi. (Many people love to eat the crispy burned rice layer at the bottom of the pot.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sém chút nữa" / "Suýt nữa thì...": An idiomatic expression meaning "was very close to happening," "almost," or "nearly." It extends from the idea of being just on the edge (or slightly touched by) an event.
  • Tôi sém chút nữa thì bị tai nạn giao thông sáng nay. (I was this close to having a traffic accident this morning.)
  • Đội bóng của chúng tôi suýt nữa thì thắng trận đấu. (Our team almost won the match.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cháy (v, adj): To burn / burned. A stronger, more general term for burning. ( - The house burned down.)
• Khét (adj): Smelling of something burned; scorched. Often describes the smell resulting from something being . ( - A burnt smell.)
• Rám nắng (adj, v): To be/get tanned (by the sun). A more neutral term than for sun-darkened skin, without the implication of burning.

Synonyms

• Verb/Adjective: Cháy xém, cháy sém (lightly burned), rám (tanned), rộp (blistered - for more severe sunburn).
• Noun (rice): Cơm cháy, cơm đáy nồi.

Related Idioms

• Sém mất mạng: Literally "almost lost one's life," meaning had a very close brush with death.
  • Vụ tai nạn đó khiến anh ta sém mất mạng. (That accident caused him to come within an inch of his life.)

verb, adj

1. singed, burned, burnt

noun

1. layer of burned rice