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cả

Level ≈A1 (approx.) determineradjectiveadverb Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [kaː˧˩]Huế [kaː˧˨]Saigon [kaː˨˩˦] browser voice
Syllables · tones
cảdippinghỏi

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

cả means all; whole; even.

Meanings of cả in English

Determiner

  1. all

Adjective

  1. whole
    • Cả lớp đứng lên!The whole class, stand up!
  2. Northern Vietnam firstborn; eldest; oldest ≈ hai
  3. great (title referring to an important leader)
    • Grêgôriô CảGregory the Great
  4. main; biggest

Adverb

  1. on a large scale; to a great degree
    • cả cườito laugh heartily
    • Chúng con nguyện danh Cha cả sáng.Hallowed be thy name.

Noun

  1. in compounds price, cost

Words with cả

cả đốngcả gancả ngàycả nhàcả thảycả tincao cảgià cảgiáo cảhết cảhơn cảkẻ cảkể cảngay cảtất cảthánh cảvơ đũa cả nắmgiá cảmặc cảcả nghĩ

Synonyms and antonyms of cả

Antonyms

út

Example sentences with cả

  • Tom đã mất cả bố và mẹ. Tom has lost both of his parents.
  • Cả Tom và tôi đều đã say. Tom and I were both drunk.
  • Tom không có gì để ăn cả. Tom didn't have any food to eat.
  • Chẳng có ai ở trong đó cả. There was nobody in there.
  • Nó chẳng có ý nghĩa gì cả. It makes no sense.
  • Tom không có gì để cho cả. Tom had nothing to give.
  • Không có Tom nào ở đây cả. There's no Tom here.
  • Cô ấy không dám hỏi gì cả. She doesn't dare ask for anything.

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, cả could be written as 哿, 奇, 𪥘. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Vietic *kah.

Frequently asked questions

What does cả mean in English?

cả (determiner) means "all; whole; even".

How do you pronounce cả?

IPA: Hanoi [kaː˧˩]; Saigon [kaː˨˩˦]. Tones: cả — dipping tone (hỏi).

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.