ai bảo

Level ≈B2 (approx.) phrase Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [ʔaːj˧˧ ʔɓaːw˧˩]Huế [ʔaːj˧˧ ʔɓaːw˧˨]Saigon [ʔaːj˧˧ ʔɓaːw˨˩˦] browser voice

Syllables · tones

ailevelngang bảodippinghỏi

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

Meanings of ai bảo in English

Phrase

before a sentence Used to explain and blame someone for a bad thing that happened to them.
- Không có quà thì đừng có kêu. Ai bảo khi hỏi thì không trả lời?Don't complain when you don't receive a present. It was all because you didn't answer when asked.

Example sentences with ai bảo

Ai bảo cậu liên lạc với tôi? Who told you to contact me?
Chả ai bảo thế. Nobody said that.
Ai bảo? Who said that?

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

Etymology

ai (“who”) + bảo (“tell”).

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce ai bảo?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔaːj˧˧ ʔɓaːw˧˩]; Saigon [ʔaːj˧˧ ʔɓaːw˨˩˦]. Tones: ai — level tone (ngang), bảo — dipping tone (hỏi).

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.