cú

Level ≈B1 (approx.) nouninterjectionverb Top 3,000 most common

Hanoi [ku˧˦]Huế [kʊw˨˩˦]Saigon [kʊw˦˥] browser voice

Syllables · tones

cúrisingsắc

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

cú means an owl.

Classifier: con — e.g. một con cú (one owl)

Meanings of cú in English

Noun

an owl (bird)

Interjection

onomatopoeia hoot

Verb

to knuckle one's head ≈ kí cốc

Classifier

blow; strike
- đả một cú hiểm hócto deliver a hard blow
flash; hit
- nhận được một cú điện thoạito have a quick phone call

Words with cú

cú đêm cú lợn cú mèo cú muỗi cú vọ cú pháp

Example sentences with cú

Anh ấy đã làm một cú lộn nhào. He turned a somersault.
Anh ấy đã nhảy một cú lộn nhào. He turned a somersault.
Anh ấy đã thực hiện một cú lộn nhào. He turned a somersault.
Cú là chim. Owls are birds.
Nếu tôi là bạn, tôi sẽ không thể đón nhận cú sốc này. If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to receive this shock.
Nhờ đôi mắt của nó, con cú có thể nhìn rất tốt trong bóng tối. Thanks to its eyes, an owl can see really well in the dark.

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, cú could be written as 鴝, 𫚱. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *kuːʔ, of imitative origin. Compare Proto-Tai *ɡawꟲ (“owl”) (whence Thai เค้า (káo), Lao ເຄົ້າ (khao)), Chinese 鵂 (OC *qʰ(r)u), 鴞 (OC *[ɢ]ʷ(r)aw) (B-S).

Frequently asked questions

What does cú mean in English?

cú (noun) means "an owl".

How do you pronounce cú?

IPA: Hanoi [ku˧˦]; Saigon [kʊw˦˥]. Tones: cú — rising tone (sắc).

What classifier is used with cú?

Common classifiers: con — for example "một con cú" (one an owl).

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.