trần trần
Definition
- Adjective:
- Remaining hard or unchanged despite processing: Describes something, typically food like beans or seeds, that stubbornly stays hard and fails to soften or cook properly after being boiled or stewed for a long time.
- Bare, plain, or unadorned: Can describe something appearing in its raw, plain, or exposed state, lacking any covering or refinement.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Hạt đậu cứ trần trần, nấu cả tiếng không nhừ. (The beans remained stubbornly hard, not softening even after an hour of cooking.)
- Bức tường để trần trần không sơn. (The wall was left bare, unpainted.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is often used reduplicatively as "trần trần" to emphasize the state of being unchanged or unyielding.
- It can carry a figurative sense of being emotionally unmoved or unaffected.
- Lời khuyên cứ trần trần trong đầu, chẳng thấm vào đâu. (The advice just remained hard and unabsorbed in his mind, not sinking in at all.)
Variants and Related Words
- Trơ trơ (adj): Similar meaning of being bare, exposed, or unmoved.
- Cứng đầu cứng cổ (idiomatic phrase): Stubborn, obstinate (often used for people).
Synonyms
- Uncooked / Hard: Resisting becoming soft.
- Bare / Naked: Lacking a cover or finish.
- Unchanged / Unyielding: Remaining in the same state despite efforts.
Related Idioms
- While "trần trần" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, its meaning relates to the concept of "trơ như đá" (hard as stone, unmoved) or "cứng như hạt trân châu" (hard as a pearl, referring to uncooked food).