Definition

1. Noun:
   • Food: Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink to maintain life and growth. It encompasses both raw ingredients and prepared dishes.
   • A dish / Meal: A particular prepared item of food, often served as part of a larger meal.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Thức ăn rất cần thiết cho sự sống. (Food is essential for life.)
  • Mẹ tôi nấu nhiều thức ăn ngon cho bữa tối. (My mother cooked many delicious dishes for dinner.)
  • Chúng tôi mua thức ăn cho chó ở cửa hàng thú cưng. (We buy food for the dog at the pet store.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "thức ăn" is a general, neutral word for food. It can be used in both biological/technical contexts (e.g., nutrition, animal feed) and everyday contexts (e.g., home cooking, restaurant meals).
• It often implies something that is meant to be consumed with a staple like rice () in a traditional Vietnamese meal structure.

Variants and Related Words

• Đồ ăn (n): A more colloquial synonym for "thức ăn", commonly used in everyday speech.
  • Đồ ăn ở đây rất ngon. (The food here is very delicious.)
• Món ăn (n): Specifically refers to a dish, a prepared culinary item, often highlighting its characteristics as a recipe or specialty.
  • Phở là một món ăn truyền thống của Việt Nam. (Phở is a traditional Vietnamese dish.)
• Lương thực (n): Staple food, provisions; often refers to basic, sustaining foods like rice, grains.
• Thực phẩm (n): Foodstuffs, food products; often used in contexts of commerce, safety, and general categories of edible goods.

Synonyms

• Food: The most direct and general equivalent.
• Nourishment: Something that provides nutrients.
• Fare: A somewhat more formal word for food provided or available.
• Provisions: A supply of food.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Thức ăn nhanh: Fast food.
  • Giới trẻ thích thức ăn nhanh. (Young people like fast food.)
• Thức ăn thừa: Leftover food.
  • Đừng vứt thức ăn thừa. (Don't throw away leftover food.)
• Ngộ độc thức ăn: Food poisoning.
  • Anh ấy bị ngộ độc thức ăn. (He has food poisoning.)