Definition

1. Noun:
   • Inner tube: A closed, circular rubber tube used to contain compressed air, placed inside the tire of a car, motorcycle, or bicycle.
   • (Archaic) Room, chamber: Refers to a bedroom in a hotel or a rented room. This usage is now considered old-fashioned.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Inner tube):
  • Xe đạp của tôi bị thủng săm. (My bicycle has a punctured inner tube.)
  • Anh ấy đang thay săm xe máy. (He is changing the motorcycle's inner tube.)
• Noun (Archaic: Room):
  • Ông ấy thuê một căn săm ở khách sạn cũ. (He rented a room in an old hotel.) [Note: This usage is rare in modern Vietnamese.]

Advanced Usage

• The word 'săm' is almost exclusively used in the context of vehicle tires in contemporary language. The archaic meaning related to accommodation is largely obsolete and may only be encountered in historical texts or very specific contexts.

Variants and Related Words

• Lốp (noun): Tire. This refers to the outer rubber part of the wheel. 'Săm' (inner tube) is placed inside the 'lốp'.
  • Bánh xe gồm lốp và săm. (A wheel consists of a tire and an inner tube.)
• Vỏ (xe) (noun): Another common word for tire (short for 'vỏ xe').
• Buồng (noun): Room, chamber. This is the modern, standard word for a room, replacing the archaic use of 'săm'.

Synonyms

• Ruột (xe) (noun): Literally "intestine (of a vehicle)"; a colloquial synonym for 'inner tube'.
  • Ruột xe đạp (bicycle inner tube)
• Ống bơm hơi (noun): Literally "air pump tube"; a descriptive term.

Related Phrases

• Thủng săm (verb phrase): To have a punctured/flat inner tube.
  • Xe tôi bị thủng săm trên đường. (I got a flat tire on the road.)
• Bơm săm (verb phrase): To inflate the inner tube.
  • Anh nhớ bơm săm cho căng. (Remember to inflate the inner tube firmly.)
• Vá săm (verb phrase): To patch/repair an inner tube.
  • Tiệm sửa xe có thể vá săm cho bạn. (The repair shop can patch your inner tube.)

Notes

• In modern usage, when talking about vehicles, 'săm' specifically means the inflatable inner tube. Many modern vehicles, especially cars, now use tubeless tires ('lốp không săm'), making the inner tube less common.
• The archaic meaning of 'săm' as a room is a loanword from French (room). It is important for learners to recognize this historical meaning but to understand that 'phòng' or 'buồng' are the correct words to use for "room" today.

noun

1. inner tube, tube