TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

còng

Level ≈B2 (approx.) nounverbadjective Top 5,000 most common
Hanoi [kawŋ͡m˨˩]Huế [kawŋ͡m˦˩]Saigon [kawŋ͡m˨˩] browser voice
Syllables · tones
còngfallinghuyền

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

còng means handcuffs.

Classifier: cái, chiếc — e.g. một cái còng (one handcuffs)

Meanings of còng in English

Noun

  1. handcuffs
    • còng số 8(8-shaped) handcuffs

Noun

  1. crabs of genus Uca

Verb

  1. to put handcuffs (on the wrists)
    • Còng tay hắn lại!Handcuff him! / Restrain him with handcuffs!

Adjective

  1. hunchbacked

Example sentences with còng

  • Chúng tôi đã cố còng tay họ lại. We tried to handcuff them.
  • Họ đã bị còng tay. They're handcuffed.

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, còng could be written as 蚣, 栱, 𲄢, 窮. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Compare Proto-Katuic *kɔŋ (“bracelet”) (whence Pacoh cóng (“bracelet”)) and Proto-Bahnaric *kɔːŋ (“bracelet”) (whence Bahnar kong (“bracelet”)).

Frequently asked questions

What does còng mean in English?

còng (noun) means "handcuffs".

How do you pronounce còng?

IPA: Hanoi [kawŋ͡m˨˩]; Saigon [kawŋ͡m˨˩]. Tones: còng — falling tone (huyền).

What classifier is used with còng?

Common classifiers: cái, chiếc — for example "một cái còng" (one handcuffs).

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.