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cổ

Level ≈A2 (approx.) nounadjectivepronoun Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ko˧˩]Huế [kow˧˨]Saigon [kow˨˩˦] browser voice
Syllables · tones
cổdippinghỏi

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

cổ means neck.

Chinese characters: 古

Meanings of cổ in English

Noun

  1. neck
    • cổ chaia bottleneck

Adjective

  1. ancient; "old"; compare cũ (“old, but not ancient”)
    • Ai Cập cổAncient Egypt
  2. antique; "old"; compare cũ (“old, but not ancient”)
    • đồ cổantiques

Pronoun

  1. Southern Vietnam, colloquial she/her, that young adult woman

Words with cổ

bướu cổcắt cổcổ áocổ châncổ họngcổ taycổ tử cungcứng cổè cổgô cổhươu cao cổtreo cổcổ đạicổ điểncổ hủcổ kimcổ kínhcổ lai hicổ lỗcổ ngữcổ phongcổ quáicổ sinh vật họccổ sơcổ thụcổ tíchcổ trangcổ truyềncổ tự họccổ văn

Example sentences with cổ

  • Hươu cao cổ có cái cổ dài. Giraffes have very long necks.
  • Nara là một thành phố rất cổ. Nara is a very old city.
  • Cổ chúc mừng ảnh được thăng chức. She congratulated him on his promotion.
  • Lưỡi của hưu cao cổ dài bao nhiêu? How long is a giraffe's tongue?
  • Tom bẻ cổ con gà. Tom wrung the chicken's neck.
  • Diễn giả tằng hắng cổ. The speaker cleared his throat.
  • Con khủng long này có một cái cổ dài. This dinosaur had a long neck.
  • Công việc của tôi là bóp cổ chết chuột. My job is strangling rats.

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, cổ could be written as 古, 𦙶, 股. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *koh (“throat; neck”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *kɔːʔ (“neck”) (Sidwell, 2024). Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] kɔː⁵, Khmer ក (kɑɑ), Bahnar hơko, Mon ကံ. For a case of similar coda mismatch between PV and PAA forms, see vả, and also Muong nỏ.

Frequently asked questions

What does cổ mean in English?

cổ (noun) means "neck".

How do you pronounce cổ?

IPA: Hanoi [ko˧˩]; Saigon [kow˨˩˦]. Tones: cổ — dipping tone (hỏi).

Is cổ a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. cổ is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 古.

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.