âu

Level ≈B2 (approx.) adjectivenounadverb Sino-Vietnamese Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [ʔəw˧˧]Huế [ʔəw˧˧]Saigon [ʔəw˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

âulevelngang

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

âu means European.

Chinese characters: 甌

Meanings of âu in English

Adjective

European (of, from or relating to Europe)

Noun

small crock

Noun

lock

Adverb

literary perhaps, just

Verb

obsolete to worry

Words with âu

âu sầu lo âu Ấn-Âu âu phục Bắc Âu Châu Âu Đông Âu Nam Âu Tây Âu âu yếm

Example sentences with âu

Âu lo nhiều quá thì sẽ hói đầu đấy. Don't worry too much, or you'll go bald.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, âu could be written as 瓯, 歐, 謳, 嘔. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 甌 (“small bowl”).

Frequently asked questions

What does âu mean in English?

âu (adjective) means "European".

How do you pronounce âu?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔəw˧˧]; Saigon [ʔəw˧˧]. Tones: âu — level tone (ngang).

Is âu a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. âu is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 甌.

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.