sánh

Sánh is a Vietnamese word that functions primarily as a verb with two broad senses. In culinary and descriptive contexts, it denotes thickening or becoming viscous; liquids, sauces, and reductions are described as sánh or sánh đặc when they reach a dense, smooth consistency. For example, nước sốt đã sánh lại khi đun nhỏ lửa.

A second core sense relates to comparison and parity. In this usage, sánh conveys being on a similar level or matching someone or something, often appearing in compounds and idioms such as sánh với, sánh vai, sánh đôi, and sánh ngang. These forms express notions of equality, partnership, or competition. Examples include xem ai sánh với ai (to compare someone with someone else), sánh vai chiến đấu (to fight side by side), and sánh ngang với các đối thủ mạnh (to be on par with strong opponents).

Usage notes and nuance. Sánh is native to Vietnamese and appears in both everyday speech and literary contexts. When used with liquids, the focus is on texture and consistency; when used in idioms, the focus is on relation or comparison. The verb can take prepositional phrases such as sánh với or be combined in fixed expressions like sánh vai, sánh đôi, and sánh ngang to convey different shades of equality, companionship, or rivalry.

See also: sánh vai, sánh đôi, sánh ngang, sánh bằng, so sánh.