cơm
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
cơm means cooked non-glutinous rice; a rice meal.
Meanings of cơm in English
Noun
- cooked non-glutinous rice
- a rice meal
- ăn cơmto eat rice; to have a rice meal, optionally with meat, fish, soup, among other foods
- of fruit, especially coconuts meat; flesh
Adjective
- of fruit tasteless (not sour, or only slightly sweet)
Verb
- slang to walk away with; to steal
Words with cơm
Idioms and sayings with cơm
- cơm thừa canh cặn — leftover rice and soup dregs
Example sentences with cơm
- Tom bây giờ đang nấu cơm tối. Tom is cooking dinner now.
- Taro ơi, cơm tối xong rồi đấy! Taro, dinner's ready!
- Cơm mẹ nấu ngon lắm đấy! Mom cooked some tasty food!
- Bà xã nhà tôi đang chuẩn bị cơm tối. My wife is preparing dinner right now.
- Bạn đã bao giờ giúp vợ nấu cơm chưa? Have you ever helped your wife in cooking?
- Tôi thích cơm. I like rice.
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, cơm could be written as 粓, 𩚵. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic *kəːm (“cooked rice”); cognate with Arem kʌːm. According to Ferlus, a loan from Chinese 泔 (OC *kaːm, “water from washing rice; kitchen slops”) (SV: cam), although the vowels are difficult to match. Note similarities with Proto-Japonic *kəmai (“rice”), though unclear if coincidental or not.
Frequently asked questions
What does cơm mean in English?
cơm (noun) means "cooked non-glutinous rice; a rice meal".
How do you pronounce cơm?
IPA: Hanoi [kəːm˧˧]; Saigon [kəːm˧˧]. Tones: cơm — level tone (ngang).