ăn mày

nounverb

Hanoi [ʔan˧˧ maj˨˩]Huế [ʔaŋ˧˧ maj˦˩]Saigon [ʔaŋ˧˧ ma(ː)j˨˩] browser voice

Syllables · tones

ănlevelngang màyfallinghuyền

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

ăn mày means beggar.

Classifier: tên, đứa, thằng, gã, con — e.g. một tên ăn mày (one beggar)

Meanings of ăn mày in English

Noun

colloquial beggar

Verb

colloquial, of a beggar to beg for money ≈ ăn xin

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, ăn mày could be written as 咹眉, 咹𠋥, 咹𠷯. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Frequently asked questions

What does ăn mày mean in English?

ăn mày (noun) means "beggar".

How do you pronounce ăn mày?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔan˧˧ maj˨˩]; Saigon [ʔaŋ˧˧ ma(ː)j˨˩]. Tones: ăn — level tone (ngang), mày — falling tone (huyền).

What classifier is used with ăn mày?

Common classifiers: tên, đứa, thằng, gã, con — for example "một tên ăn mày" (one beggar).

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.