lã

Học thuật

Thân thiện

Một người đàn ông uống một cốc nước lã trong bếp.

Definition

Adjective:
- Plain, unseasoned, without flavoring: Refers to something, especially water or food, that is plain, unseasoned, or lacking any added flavor, seasoning, or condiments.
- Bland, tasteless: Can describe something that is perceived as having little or no taste.

Usage Examples

Adjective:
- Anh ấy chỉ uống nước lã. (He only drinks plain water.)
- Món canh này nhạt quá, lã như nước ốc. (This soup is too bland, it's tasteless like snail water [a Vietnamese idiom for something very bland].)
- Tôi thích ăn cơm với thịt kho, không thích ăn cơm lã. (I like to eat rice with braised meat, I don't like eating plain rice [rice with nothing else].)

Advanced Usage

"lã chã": This is a reduplicative form. It is an adverb meaning "in torrents" or "profusely," typically used to describe tears or rain falling heavily and continuously. It is considered a separate lexical item from the adjective lã.
- Cô ấy khóc lã chã. (She cried profusely / in torrents.)
The word lã is almost exclusively used in the fixed phrase "nước lã" (plain water) in modern Vietnamese. Its standalone use as an adjective is rare and often considered archaic or dialectal.

Variants and Related Words

Nhạt (adj): This is the more common and general word for "bland," "tasteless," or "faint" (in color). It can often be used in similar contexts where lã might appear.
- Canh nhạt quá. (The soup is too bland.)
Lạt (adj, Northern dialect): A regional variant of nhạt, meaning "bland" or "tasteless."
Nước lã (n): The primary compound phrase meaning "plain water" (i.e., water that is not tea, coffee, soda, etc.).

Synonyms

Notes on Meaning and Usage

The core meaning of lã is intrinsically linked to the absence of flavor or seasoning. Its usage is highly restricted.
In contemporary Vietnamese, lã is not a free morpheme used actively to form new phrases. It is a bound morpheme found almost solely in the idiom nước lã.
The reference "lãxem nước lã" from other dictionaries is an instruction meaning "lã: see nước lã," confirming that the word is primarily defined through this compound.
Do not confuse the adjective lã with the homophone lã (a Sino-Vietnamese word meaning "to lead" or "territory," as in lãnh đạo - to lead, or lãnh thổ - territory). They are different words.

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