đông lạnh

Thịt cá được bảo quản trong tủ đông lạnh.

Definition

1. Verb (Transitive):

   • To freeze (food or biological material): The primary meaning of "đông lạnh" is the process of preserving something by subjecting it to extreme cold, turning it into a solid state. This is commonly used for food preservation.
   • To cryopreserve: In scientific contexts, it refers to preserving living cells, tissues, or organisms at very low temperatures.

2. Adjective:

   • Frozen: Describes the state of something that has been subjected to the freezing process.
   • Deep-frozen: Emphasizes a state of being frozen solid, typically for long-term storage.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Chúng tôi đông lạnh cá để ăn dần. (We freeze fish to eat gradually.)
  • Các mẫu máu được đông lạnh để nghiên cứu. (The blood samples are frozen for research.)
• Adjective:
  • Hải sản đông lạnh thường rẻ hơn đồ tươi. (Frozen seafood is often cheaper than fresh.)
  • Anh ấy mua rau đông lạnh. (He bought frozen vegetables.)

Advanced Usage

• "đông lạnh phôi": to freeze embryos (a medical procedure).
  • Cặp vợ chồng quyết định đông lạnh phôi. (The couple decided to freeze embryos.)
• "cấp đông" / "làm đông lạnh nhanh": to quick-freeze, to flash-freeze. This is a more technical term for rapid freezing.
  • Công nghệ cấp đông giúp thực phẩm giữ nguyên chất lượng. (Flash-freezing technology helps food retain its quality.)

Variants and Related Words

• Làm lạnh (v): to chill, to cool. This refers to making something cold but not necessarily freezing it solid.
  • Làm lạnh bánh trước khi cắt. (Chill the cake before cutting.)
• Đóng băng (v): to freeze, to ice over. This often refers to liquids (like water) turning to ice naturally or a system/account being frozen.
  • Hồ nước đóng băng vào mùa đông. (The lake freezes over in winter.)
  • Tài khoản ngân hàng của anh ta bị đóng băng. (His bank account was frozen.)

Synonyms

• Freeze: The most direct synonym for the verb form.
• Deep-freeze: Emphasizes industrial or long-term freezing.
• Frozen: The most direct synonym for the adjective form.

Related Idioms

• Lạnh cóng / lạnh đông: freezing cold (describing weather or a sensation). While not using "đông lạnh" directly, it shares the root "đông" (to freeze) and describes extreme cold.
  • Trời bên ngoài lạnh cóng. (It's freezing cold outside.)
• Đông cứng: to be frozen stiff (can be used literally or figuratively for fear/shock).
  • Tôi đông cứng vì sợ hãi. (I was frozen stiff with fear.)