chiên

See also: chien, chiến, and chiền

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕiən˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕiəŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ciəŋ˧˧]

Etymology 1

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 煎 (“to pan-fry”, SV: tiên), (possibly Teochew). Compare Khmer ជៀន (ciən), ចៀន (ciən).

 Rán on Vietnamese Wikipedia

 Cơm chiên on Vietnamese Wikipedia

 Chuối chiên on Vietnamese Wikipedia

Verb

chiên • (煎)

1. (chiefly Southern Vietnam) to fry

   Synonym: rán

Usage notes

• Although rán and chiên are two dialectal varieties and usually interchangeable, there are some fixed expressions such as gà rán, cơm chiên, xôi chiên

Derived terms

• cơm chiên (粓煎, “fried rice”)

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 氈 (“felt (textile material)”). Semantically parallel to cừu (“sheep”) from 裘 (“fur coat”).

Noun

(classifier con) chiên • (𦍫)

1. (archaic, now only in compounds) lamb; young sheep
   • 2005, chapter 37, in Cao Tự Thanh, transl., Anh hùng xạ điêu, Văn học, translation of 射雕英雄传 by Jīn Yōng (Kim Dung):

     […] nhất thời không sao hiểu được, ngồi xếp bằng xuống tấm nệm lông chiên dưới đất.

     […] for the moment he had no way of understanding it; he sat down cross-legged onto the sheepskin cushion on the ground.

2. (Christianity) Christian; sheep

See also

• cừu (“sheep”)

Adjective

chiên

1. made of animal fur or of imitation fur
   • 2009, Bùi Thanh Minh, chapter 3, in Cõi đời hư thực, NXB Hà Nội:

     Tấm đắp duy nhất của cụ là một chiếc chăn chiên, lâu ngày những sợi bông rụng dần, còn lại chủ yếu là những sợi chỉ, căng lên trông như mắt lưới.

     His only cover was an imitation fur blanket; the cotton fiber had started coming loose a long time ago and what was left was mostly thread: spread out it looked like a net.

Derived terms

• chiên ghẻ