ăn lót dạ

verb

Hanoi [ʔan˧˧ lɔt̚˧˦ zaː˧˨ʔ]Huế [ʔaŋ˧˧ lɔk̚˦˧˥ jaː˨˩ʔ]Saigon [ʔaŋ˧˧ lɔk̚˦˥ jaː˨˩˨] browser voice

Syllables · tones

ănlevelngang lótrisingsắc dạheavynặng

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

Meanings of ăn lót dạ in English

Verb

to have a light snack or meal to stave off hunger before a main meal ≈ ăn nhẹ lót dạ
- Mẹ bảo tôi ăn lót dạ bát cháo rồi hãy đi học.My mother told me to have a bowl of porridge as a light snack before going to school.

Etymology

ăn (“to eat”) + lót (“to line; to pad”) + dạ (“stomach”). Literally, “to eat [to] line [the] stomach”.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce ăn lót dạ?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔan˧˧ lɔt̚˧˦ zaː˧˨ʔ]; Saigon [ʔaŋ˧˧ lɔk̚˦˥ jaː˨˩˨]. Tones: ăn — level tone (ngang), lót — rising tone (sắc), dạ — heavy tone (nặng).

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