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ba

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

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

ba means three; father (Southern).

Meanings of ba in English

Numeral

  1. three
    • Ba người lính ngự lâmThe Three Musketeers

Noun

  1. Southern Vietnam father ≈ ángbácbọbốcậucha
    • Ba con tên gì?What is your dad's name?

Adjective

  1. Southern Vietnam, of a sibling secondborn
    • anh/chị basecond eldest brother/sister
    • bác basecond eldest brother/sister of one's parent
    • chú basecondborn younger brother of one's father

Determiner

  1. colloquial some, an indefinite quantity greater than one
    • Ba cái đó chả đáng quan tâm.There's no need to be concerned about those.

Words with ba

ba mááo ba lỗba bảy hai mốt ngàyba chỉba phảiba queba rọiBa Tàudăm banón ba tầmtháng bathứ bavài baBa LanBa Tưba cáiba baba chĩaba-danba gaiba gácba hoaba khíaba kíchba lápba lêba lôba lămBa Naba quân

Idioms and sayings with ba

  • ba que xỏ lá — cheating and caddish; wicked and malicious; deceitful; roguish

Example sentences with ba

  • Anh ta đặt ba bữa ăn tối. He ordered three dinners.
  • Ba tui đi làm bằng xe hơi. Father drives to work.
  • Họ đều là học sinh cấp ba. They're all high school students.
  • Tàu hỏa này chỉ có ba toa. This train only has three coaches.
  • Anh ấy đã mất ba năm trước. He died three years ago.
  • Ba tui là một ngư dân giỏi. My father is a skilled fisherman.
  • Tom đã giơ ba ngón tay lên. Tom held up three fingers.
  • Tom đến đây ba lần một năm. Tom comes here three times a year.

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, ba could be written as 爸, 𠀧, 巴. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Attested quite late in Vietnamese literature. Likely a loan from some variety of Chinese 爸 (bà) (if so distantly related to bố). The resemblance to French papa is probably coincidental.

Frequently asked questions

What does ba mean in English?

ba (numeral) means "three; father (Southern)".

How do you pronounce ba?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɓaː˧˧]; Saigon [ʔɓaː˧˧]. Tones: ba — 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.