ông
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
ông means grandfather; Mr.; you (to an older man).
Meanings of ông in English
Noun
- grandfather
- old man
- honorific man, old or young
Pronoun
- you, my grandfather
- familiar you, an old man
- formal you, a man about 40 or older
- informal you, a dude
- Ông nghĩ sao vậy !?The heck were you thinking, man!?
- I/me, your grandfather
- familiar I/me, an old man
- he/him, an admirable/lovable old or deceased man
Words with ông
Synonyms and antonyms of ông
Antonyms
Example sentences with ông
- Ông hãy lên xe buýt số 5. You should take the number 5 bus.
- Bạn nợ ông ta cái gì đấy? What do you owe him?
- Ông ta sẽ không ưa cái này. He won't like this.
- Chiếc xe này là của ông ta. This car is his.
- Ông ta đã quẹt một que diêm. He struck a match.
- Ông ta không biết tôi là ai. He doesn't know me.
- Ông ta chết được 10 năm rồi. He has been dead for ten years.
- Rõ ràng ông ta đang nói dối. Obviously, he is lying.
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, ông could be written as 𪪳, 𡗳. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: ông
ông means "grandfather", and from there "old man" and, in formal settings, "Mr." or "sir".
- Family: Ông cháu năm nay tám mươi tuổi. — My grandfather is eighty this year.
- To an elderly man: Cháu mời ông ngồi ạ. — Please have a seat. (offering your seat on a bus)
- Formal title: Ông Nguyễn Văn Nam, giám đốc công ty. — Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, the company director.
Between equals, ông can also be joking or confrontational. Two male friends might tease: Ông nói gì vậy? — What are you on about? And in a quarrel, switching from anh to ông signals coldness.
Use ông in the polite sense only for men of grandparent age. For a middle-aged man, chú or bác is warmer.
Family words: ông nội is your father's father, ông ngoại your mother's father. ông xã is a playful word for "husband".
Etymology
Sino-Vietnamese word from 翁 (“old man”). In Japanese, the female counterpart would be 嫗 (“old woman”), but Vietnamese bà derives from 婆 (pó, “grandmother”) instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does ông mean in English?
ông (noun) means "grandfather; Mr.; you (to an older man)".
How do you pronounce ông?
IPA: Hanoi [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧]; Saigon [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧]. Tones: ông — level tone (ngang).
Is ông a Sino-Vietnamese word?
Yes. ông is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 翁.