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ông già

Level ≈A2 (approx.) noun Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ zaː˨˩]Huế [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ jaː˦˩]Saigon [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ jaː˨˩] browser voice
Syllables · tones
ônglevelnganggiàfallinghuyền

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

ông già means old man; elderly man.

Meanings of ông già in English

Noun

  1. literal old man; elderly man
    • Ông già và biển cảThe Old Man and the Sea
  2. derogatory, informal old man; elderly man
    • Nhìn gì hả ông già?What are you lookin' at, 'old man?
  3. colloquial, informal old man (father)
    • Ông già mày dạo này thế nào?How is your old man, lately?

Synonyms and antonyms of ông già

Synonyms

ông cụbốtíacha

Example sentences with ông già

  • Ông già kia là ai vậy? Who is that old man?
  • Ông già Noel gầy hay béo? Is Santa Claus thin or fat?
  • Tôi đã thấy ông già Noel. I saw Santa Claus.
  • Ông già Noel là nhân vật hư cấu. Santa Claus is a fictional character.
  • Ông già Noel có thật. Santa Claus exists.
  • Ông già ngồi xuống. The old man sat down.
  • Có phải ông già đã bị lạc trong rừng không? Did the old man get lost in the forest?
  • Rất khó để 1 ông già để thay đổi cách sống. It's hard for an old man to change his way of living.

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

Etymology

ông (“grandfather”) + già (“old”)

Frequently asked questions

What does ông già mean in English?

ông già (noun) means "old man; elderly man".

How do you pronounce ông già?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ zaː˨˩]; Saigon [ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ jaː˨˩]. Tones: ông — level tone (ngang), già — falling tone (huyền).

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.