TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

bắc

Level ≈B1 (approx.) adjectiveverb Sino-Vietnamese Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔɓak̚˧˦]Huế [ʔɓak̚˦˧˥]Saigon [ʔɓak̚˦˥] browser voice
Syllables · tones
bắcrisingsắc

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

bắc means north; northern.

Chinese characters: 北

Meanings of bắc in English

Adjective

  1. north; northern
    • phía bắcnorthern direction
    • hướng bắcnorthern direction
    • Bắc Ai-lenNorthern Ireland

Verb

  1. to place things so that one can climb them to reach a higher spot
    • bắc thangto place a ladder so one can climb it
    • Bắc thang lên mà hỏi ông trời!How should I know!?
    • bắc ghế lên bànto put a chair on top of a table so one can stand on it
  2. to place a pot or pan onto a stove, or to take it off it
    • bắc nồi xuốngto take the pot off the stove

Words with bắc

bắc cựcBắc KinhBắc MỹBắc HànBắc KìBắc KỳBắc Âu

Synonyms and antonyms of bắc

Antonyms

nam

Example sentences with bắc

  • Hokkaido nằm ở phía bắc Nhật Bản. Hokkaido is located in northern Japan.
  • Hãy đi về hướng bắc. Head north.
  • La bàn chỉ hướng bắc. Compasses point north.
  • Gió thổi từ hướng Bắc. The wind is coming from the north.
  • Nhà thờ cổ toạ lạc ở phần phía bắc của thành phố. The old church is located in the northern part of the city.

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, bắc could be written as 𢫣. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 北 (“north”). Compare bấc (as in gió bấc (“northern wind”)).

Frequently asked questions

What does bắc mean in English?

bắc (adjective) means "north; northern".

How do you pronounce bắc?

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

Is bắc a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. bắc is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 北.

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.