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bông

Level ≈A2 (approx.) nounclassifieradverb Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]Huế [ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]Saigon [ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
bônglevelngang

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

bông means bloom; flower.

Meanings of bông in English

Noun

  1. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam bloom; flower ≈ hoa
  2. cotton
    • gấu bônga cotton-stuffed bear

Classifier

  1. Indicates flowers. ≈ đoá

Noun

  1. Southern Vietnam earring

Adverb

  1. jokingly
    • nói bôngto joke

Noun

  1. dated coupon; voucher; bond; proof

Words with bông

bông tuyếtgấu bôngpháo bôngthú nhồi bôngbông đùalông bôngbông bụpbông giấybông gònbông gạobông lôngbông phèngbông taibông vụ

Example sentences with bông

  • Tôi đang mua một bông hoa. I'm buying a flower.
  • Nhìn những bông hoa này xem. Look at those flowers.
  • Lấy bất cứ bông hoa nào bạn thích. Take whichever flower you like.
  • Tôi có hai bông hoa. I have two flowers.
  • Bông hoa này đẹp quá! How pretty is this flower!
  • Bông hoa này thật đẹp! How beautiful this flower is!
  • Bông hoa. Flower.
  • Cô gái mà đã tặng cho tôi những bông hoa đẹp là em gái bạn. The girl who gave me beautiful flowers was your sister.

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, bông could be written as 芃, 𱽐, 𱣩, 葻. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Usage note: bông

In the South, bông is the everyday word for "flower"; in the North it is hoa. Both regions also use bông as a classifier for single flowers.

  • South: Anh mua bông tặng em. — I bought you flowers.
  • Classifier: một bông hồng — a rose; ba bông hoa — three flowers

Other meanings:

  • Cotton, cotton wool: bông gòn (South), bông (North) — cotton balls at the pharmacy
  • Ear of grain: bông lúa — ear of rice
  • bông tai — earrings (also khuyên tai in the North)
  • Joke, tease: nói đùa is more common, but you hear bông đùa in writing

Regional pairs like bông/hoa are easy to learn once you know a speaker's region; both are understood across the country.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *poːŋ (“flower”). Cognate with Muong pông and Thavung โปง. Outside of Vietic, compare Proto-Pearic *Pa(ː)ŋ (Headley, 1985), Proto-Katuic *ʔmpɔɔŋ (“banana blossom”), Kensiu həpuaŋ, Ten'edn hapɔŋ.

Frequently asked questions

What does bông mean in English?

bông (noun) means "bloom; flower".

How do you pronounce bông?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]; Saigon [ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]. Tones: bông — level tone (ngang).

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.