Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Plain or meatless: Describes food, especially broth or soup, that is made without meat, fish, or rich ingredients, often perceived as bland or insubstantial.
   • Empty or vain: Describes words, promises, or theories that lack substance, action, or real intention behind them; mere talk without follow-through.
   • Pale and quiet: Describes light, particularly moonlight, that is clear, bright, but diffuse, cold, and melancholic, often without a visible moon.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Nhà nghèo, bữa nào cũng ăn canh suông với cơm. (The family is poor, every meal is just plain soup with rice.)
  • Đừng tin những lời hứa suông của hắn. (Don't believe his empty promises.)
  • Đêm nay trăng suông, lòng tôi buồn man mác. (Tonight the moon is pale and quiet, my heart feels a vague sadness.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "suông" is often used in a negative or lacking sense to highlight the absence of something essential (like flavor, substance, or warmth).
• It can be combined with verbs like "nói" (to speak) or "hứa" (to promise) to form common phrases criticizing insincerity.

Variants and Related Words

• Lí thuyết suông (n): Empty theory; theory without practical application.
  • Đó chỉ là lí thuyết suông, không áp dụng được. (That's just empty theory, it can't be applied.)
• Ăn suông (v): To eat something plain or without accompanying dishes; colloquially, can mean to get something for nothing.
  • Ăn cơm suông thế này khó nuốt lắm. (Eating rice with nothing else is very hard to swallow.)

Synonyms

• Plain: Lacking embellishment or richness (for food).
• Vain: Producing no result; futile (for words/promises).
• Bland: Lacking strong flavor or interest.
• Empty: Having no real value or meaning.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Hứa suông: To make a vain/empty promise.
  • Anh ta chỉ giỏi hứa suông. (He's only good at making empty promises.)
• Nói suông: To engage in mere talk; to say things without acting on them.
  • Nói suông thì ai chẳng nói được. (Anyone can just talk without acting.)

noun

1. plain, meatless bright and quiet empty