bồ câu

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

Hanoi [ʔɓo˨˩ kəw˧˧]Huế [ʔɓow˦˩ kəw˧˧]Saigon [ʔɓow˨˩ kəw˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

bồfallinghuyền câulevelngang

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

bồ câu means pigeon; dove.

Classifier: con — e.g. một con bồ câu (one pigeon)

Meanings of bồ câu in English

Noun

pigeon; dove ≈ câu cu

Example sentences with bồ câu

Tôi sẽ đi săn bồ câu. I'm going to hunt for pigeons.
Tôi thích thú khi cho chim bồ câu ăn. I enjoyed feeding the pigeons.
Buổi chiều con bồ câu của tôi về đã bị trọng thương. In the afternoon my pigeon returned with a serious injury.

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

Etymology

The first element can also be seen in words like bồ nông (“pelican”), bồ các (“magpie”). For the second element, see cu; it is ultimately onomatopoeic. Compare Thai เขา (kǎo), Chinese 鳩 (OC *[k](r)u) (B-S), Burmese ခို (hkui), English coo.

Frequently asked questions

What does bồ câu mean in English?

bồ câu (noun) means "pigeon; dove".

How do you pronounce bồ câu?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɓo˨˩ kəw˧˧]; Saigon [ʔɓow˨˩ kəw˧˧]. Tones: bồ — falling tone (huyền), câu — level tone (ngang).

What classifier is used with bồ câu?

Common classifiers: con — for example "một con bồ câu" (one pigeon).

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.