Spelling mistakes: “săm soi” and “xăm xoi”

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - The Vietnamese Language King program (broadcast on July 11, 2025) asked the contestant to rewrite the following word correctly: “xăm soi”. The contestant wrote “săm soi”, and was immediately confirmed as “Correct”.

Actually, "xăm xoi" is not a misspelling of "săm soi".

1. Scrutinize

What does "scrutinizing" mean?

The Vietnamese dictionary (edited by Hoang Phe - Vietlex) records two meanings for "săm se": 1. To look at something repeatedly with pleasure. To examine oneself in the mirror. ~ "Long held out a Seiko wristwatch, examining it in the palm of his hand." (Cao Duy Thao). Synonym: săm se; 2. To look with extreme attention, as if to discover every small detail. "The influential families in this area hired the woman to carry water. (...) They examined whether the water bucket she carried back was clean." (Vo Thi Hao). Synonym: săm se."

The word "săm" (to examine/investigate) originates from the Chinese character "thám" (探), meaning to investigate or examine. The TH↔S relationship (thám↔săm) appears in many other cases, such as: thâm 深↔deep; thiết 鐵↔iron; thái 採↔fall; tháp 榻↔collapse (a collapse); tháp 塌↔collapse/collapse (to collapse/collapse),... The AM ↔ ĂM relationship gives us thám 探↔visit; đam 耽↔dăm/chăm; đàm 潭↔chăm; đạm 澹↔đăm; khảm 坎↔khăm (a trick, a prank),...

The word "soi" (to examine) originates from the Chinese character "chiếu" (照), meaning to look or shine. The CH↔S relationship is also seen in many other cases, such as: chẩn 疹↔sần/sỏi (roughness; measles = a disease causing fever and red rashes); chẩn 診↔to examine/look for (in diagnosis); chu 朱↔son. The IEU↔OI relationship is seen in cases like khiếu 叫↔to call; khiếu 挑↔to stir/suggest; liễu 了↔then; triệu 兆↔mòi/vòi (signs, symptoms); triệu 召↔to summon/invite/demand,...

In Chinese, the word 探照 (săm soi) is explained in the Chinese Dictionary as 探寻照射 (săm tầm chiếu xạ), meaning to search or examine, carrying a similar meaning to "săm soi" in Vietnamese.

2. Scrutinizing

The Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Hoang Phe - Vietlex) does not include the word "xăm xoi". However, the Comprehensive Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Nguyen Nhu Y) includes and explains "xăm xoi" as "to pry into other people's affairs; a tendency to pry into other people's business <> to look intently". The Dictionary of Reduplicated Words in Vietnamese (edited by Hoang Van Hanh) also records and explains the meaning similarly: "To pry into other people's affairs. A tendency to pry into other people's business. To look intently."

"Xăm xoi" is also a word with Chinese origins.

The word "xăm" (tattoo) originates from the Chinese character "纖" (tiếm), meaning to pierce or stab. The TX relationship (tiếm ↔ xăm) is also seen in many cases such as: tích 昔 ↔ xưa (ancient); tích 績 ↔ xe (thread cart); tiêm 尖 ↔ xăm (tattoo); tiễn 翦 ↔ xén (cutting); tiểu 小 ↔ xíu (tiny); tiễn 踐 ↔ xéo (crossing); tập 集 ↔ xếp (arranging, stacking). The IÊM ↔ĂM relationship is seen in: hiềm 嫌 ↔ gằm (staring, staring); hiềm hiềm 嫌 ↔ gằm (staring);iềm 恬 ↔ đằm (deeply affectionate); thiêm 添 ↔ chắm (adding, adding),...

The word "xoi" (to pierce) originates from the Chinese character 穿, meaning to pierce, to bore, to penetrate. The relationship UYÊN↔OI gives us: quyên 倦↔ tired (tired); truyền 傳↔ to call; tuyến 綫↔ thread; duyên 沿↔ to follow (to follow); duyên 延↔ to invite; chuyển 轉↔ to move; tuyền 泉↔ stream.

People still make metal probes with sharp points to poke deep into the ground to search for artifacts or lost tombs. When poking, if the ground is just soil, the probe will go deep without any obstruction. But if it hits something hard while pressing down, the probe will stop, and people will dig up that spot to see what is buried deep underground (hence the term "poking" or "excavating").

As for "xoi," it also means using an iron rod or sharp stick to pierce or clear a pipe. The "xoi" in "xăm xoi" is the same as "xoi" in "xoi mói" or "xoi bói" ("mói" is a variation of "moi"; "bói" is a variation of "bới"). Xăm xoi, xoi bói, xoi mói all mean searching or digging up something, which the dictionary by Nguyễn Như Ý and Hoàng Văn Hành defines as "digging up and prying into other people's affairs."

Here we see that, while "scrutinizing" leans towards observing and looking with utmost attention (sometimes even scrutinizing one's own reflection in the mirror), "examining" is more about searching, scrutinizing, rummaging, and digging thoroughly to find something that is hidden.

In practice, "săm soi" is sometimes used in the same sense as "xăm xoi," referring to a focused gaze as if trying to discover something (which is the second meaning of "săm soi" as defined in Hoàng Phê's dictionary: "to look with extreme attention, as if to discover every small detail").

Therefore, "xăm xoi" and "săm soi" are two different words, existing independently and having different meanings, and "xăm xoi" is not a spelling mistake of "săm soi," as the Vietnamese Language King program mistakenly believed.

Hoang Tuan Cong (Contributor)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/chinh-ta-sam-soi-nbsp-va-xam-xoi-259085.htm