cần câu

noun Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [kən˨˩ kəw˧˧]Huế [kəŋ˦˩ kəw˧˧]Saigon [kəŋ˨˩ kəw˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

cầnfallinghuyền câulevelngang

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

cần câu means fishing rod.

Classifier: cái, chiếc — e.g. một cái cần câu (one fishing rod)

Meanings of cần câu in English

Noun

fishing rod

Example sentences with cần câu

Tom say quắc cần câu. Tom drank heavily.

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, cần câu could be written as 勤鉤, 杆构, 竿鈎, 𥬊鈎. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Compound of cần (“lever, arm”) + câu (“to fish”).

Frequently asked questions

What does cần câu mean in English?

cần câu (noun) means "fishing rod".

How do you pronounce cần câu?

IPA: Hanoi [kən˨˩ kəw˧˧]; Saigon [kəŋ˨˩ kəw˧˧]. Tones: cần — falling tone (huyền), câu — level tone (ngang).

What classifier is used with cần câu?

Common classifiers: cái, chiếc — for example "một cái cần câu" (one fishing rod).

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. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.