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đầu tiên

Level ≈A1 (approx.) adjective Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔɗəw˨˩ tiən˧˧]Huế [ʔɗəw˦˩ tiəŋ˧˧]Saigon [ʔɗəw˨˩ tiəŋ˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones

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

đầu tiên means first.

Chinese characters: 頭先

Meanings of đầu tiên in English

Adjective

  1. first

Example sentences with đầu tiên

  • Tôi vẫn nhớ lần đầu tiên. I remember the first time.
  • Tôi đã bắn phát đầu tiên. I fired the first shot.
  • Tom là người đến đầu tiên. Tom was the first to arrive.
  • Tom là người tới đầu tiên. Tom was the first to arrive.
  • Bên trắng phải đi đầu tiên. White has to make the first move.
  • Đây không phải lần đầu tiên. This isn't the first time.
  • Đây là lần đầu tiên tôi có bầu. This is the first time I've ever been pregnant.
  • Ngày mai là ngày đầu tiên đi học. Tomorrow will be the first day of school.

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

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 頭先 (“first”).

Frequently asked questions

What does đầu tiên mean in English?

đầu tiên (adjective) means "first".

How do you pronounce đầu tiên?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɗəw˨˩ tiən˧˧]; Saigon [ʔɗəw˨˩ tiəŋ˧˧]. Tones: đầu — falling tone (huyền), tiên — level tone (ngang).

Is đầu tiên a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. đầu tiên is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 頭先.

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.