tương đen
[tɨəŋ˧˧ ʔɗɛn˧˧]
Hoisin sauce in Vietnamese is tương đen. Wiktionary also lists tương ngọt.
Meaning: sauce used in Chinese cooking (noun)
Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| tương đen | [tɨəŋ˧˧ ʔɗɛn˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [tɨəŋ˧˧ ʔɗɛŋ˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
| tương ngọt | [tɨəŋ˧˧ ŋɔt̚˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
In a culinary context in Vietnam, tương đen is the most common way to refer to hoisin sauce.
What does it mean word for word?
The term tương đen literally translates to 'black sauce', where tương means sauce/paste and đen means black.
Which one should you use?
While tương đen refers to the color, tương ngọt is an alternative name used to describe the sauce's sweet flavor profile.
Did you know?
- In Vietnamese cuisine, tương đen is most famously used as a dipping sauce for phở, particularly the southern style of the noodle soup.
- The word tương in 'black sauce' is a doublet of the word chao, a term used for a completely different type of fermented bean curd.
- Vietnamese speakers may use tương ngọt instead of tương đen because identifying a sauce by its dominant taste is often more important than identifying it by color.
Examples in context
- Phần thịt heo xào với Tương Hoa Quả rất thơm ngon.The stir-fried pork with hoisin sauce is very delicious.
- Tôi thích ăn Nem cuốn với Tương Đen.I like eating spring rolls with hoisin sauce.
- Lớp Tương Đen giúp thịt lợn nướng thêm thơm ngon.The layer of hoisin sauce enhances the flavor of grilled pork.
- Tôi cần mua tương đen.I need to buy hoisin sauce.
- Món này ăn kèm với tương đen.This dish is eaten with hoisin sauce.
- Bạn có muốn thêm tương đen không?Do you want to add more hoisin sauce?
Example conversation
Chi and Nam are eating at a Vietnamese restaurant.
- ChiNam ơi, anh có dùng tương đen không?Nam, do you use hoisin sauce?
- NamCó, cho anh xin một ít nhé.Yes, please give me some.
- ChiĐây, tương đen của anh đây.Here, here is your hoisin sauce.
- NamCảm ơn Chi nhiều nhé.Thank you very much, Chi.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hoisin sauce” translations and entries tương đen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (tương, ngọt) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ngọt, tương, tương đen, đen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
