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đá

Level ≈A2 (approx.) nounverb Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔɗaː˧˦]Huế [ʔɗaː˨˩˦]Saigon [ʔɗaː˦˥] browser voice
Syllables · tones

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

đá means rock; stone.

Classifier: tảng, hòn, viên, cục — e.g. một tảng đá (one rock)

Meanings of đá in English

Noun

  1. rock, stone
  2. ice as used for consumption or refrigeration
  3. slang meth, methamphetamine
  4. abbreviation short for đá quý (“gem, gemstone”)

Verb

  1. to kick
    • đòn đáa kick
    • cú đáa kick
    • các đòn đá taekwondotaekwondo kicks
  2. colloquial, slang to dump (one's girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.); to abandon
  3. Southern Vietnam to fight each other
  4. Southern Vietnam to go; to come by
  5. Northern Vietnam, colloquial to eat or drink
    • đá bát phởto eat a bowl of phở
  6. Northern Vietnam, colloquial to steal
    • Ai đá cái mũ của tao rồi?Who stole my hat?

Words with đá

Idioms and sayings with đá

Example sentences with đá

  • Một con la đã đá vào Tom. A mule kicked Tom.
  • Tôi xây những ngôi nhà bằng đá. I build houses out of stone.
  • Anh ấy bị bạn gái đá. He was dumped by his girlfriend.
  • Cậu bé đã đá quả bóng. The boy kicked the ball.
  • Nó ném hòn đá xuống hồ. He cast a stone into the pond.
  • Đá là nước ở dạng cứng. Ice is water in solid form.
  • Tôi trốn đằng sau tảng đá. I hid behind a boulder.
  • Anh ấy loạng choạng vì vấp phải đá. He staggered because he tripped on the stone.

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, đá could be written as 𥒥, 坧, 打, 跢. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Usage note: đá

đá means "stone", "ice", and "to kick".

  • Ice: Cho em ít đá. — A little ice, please. không đá — no ice; đá riêng — ice on the side
  • Stone: đường đá — stony road; tượng đá — stone statue
  • Kick: đá bóng — play football (North; South đá banh)

Drinks often carry đá in the name: cà phê sữa đá — iced coffee with condensed milk; trà đá — iced tea; nước mía đá — iced sugarcane juice.

Ordering hot: cà phê nóng. Ordering without ice: không đá or đừng bỏ đá.

In the South, ice is also called nước đá.

Slang: đá = to dump (a partner): Anh ấy bị đá rồi. — He got dumped.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *l-taːʔ (“rock”). Cognate with Arem atæːˀ. Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 𪜀打, the simplified composition of 羅 (MC la) + 打 (MC taengX) (modern SV: la đả).

Frequently asked questions

What does đá mean in English?

đá (noun) means "rock; stone".

How do you pronounce đá?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɗaː˧˦]; Saigon [ʔɗaː˦˥]. Tones: đá — rising tone (sắc).

What classifier is used with đá?

Common classifiers: tảng, hòn, viên, cục — for example "một tảng đá" (one rock).

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.