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bơi

Level ≈A1 (approx.) verbparticle Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔɓəːj˧˧]Huế [ʔɓəːj˧˧]Saigon [ʔɓəːj˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
bơilevelngang

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

bơi means to swim; to row a boat.

Meanings of bơi in English

Verb

  1. to swim (move through water)
    • Tôi không biết bơi.I can't swim.
  2. to row a boat
  3. figurative to struggle doing something beyond your capacity
    • Nếu không nắm vững cơ bản ngay từ bây giờ thì sau này sẽ phải bơi đó.If you don't have firm grip on the basics from the get-go, you'll be flagging later.

Particle

  1. abbreviation, colloquial contraction of bây/bay + ơi
    • đẹp ghê bơivery nice, right guys?

Words with bơi

bể bơibơi chóbơi lộiđồ bơihồ bơiphao bơi

Example sentences with bơi

  • Anh ấy đã ra biển để bơi. He went to sea to swim.
  • Anh ta có thể bơi rất nhanh. He can swim very fast.
  • Tôi đi bơi sau khi thức dậy. I went swimming after I woke up.
  • Hè năm ngoái Tom đã học bơi. Tom learned to swim last summer.
  • Ngày nào tôi cũng bơi ở đây. I swim here every day.
  • Sáng nào tôi cũng bơi ở biển. I swim every morning in the sea.
  • Bạn có bơi được như Tom không? Can you swim like Tom?
  • Anh ấy đã ra biển bơi. He went to sea to swim.

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, bơi could be written as 𬈺, 排, 悲, 𢴾. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *pəːj. Attested in a Lý dynasty stele dated to 1209, Báo Ân thiền tự bi kí (報恩禪寺碑記; 04102/04103) as 𬈺.

Frequently asked questions

What does bơi mean in English?

bơi (verb) means "to swim; to row a boat".

How do you pronounce bơi?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɓəːj˧˧]; Saigon [ʔɓəːj˧˧]. Tones: bơi — 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.