chú
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
chú means paternal uncle; father's younger brother.
Meanings of chú in English
Noun
- paternal uncle, father's younger brother
- maternal uncle-in-law, mother's sister's husband
- paternal uncle-in-law, father's sister's husband
- man who's presumably slightly younger than your parents
- Chú gì ơi!Hey, Mister!
Pronoun
- I/me, your father's younger brother
- I/me, your mother's sister's husband
- I/me, a man who's presumably slightly younger than your parents
- you, my father's younger brother
- you, my mother's sister's husband
- you, a man who's presumably slightly younger than my parents
- sometimes humorous and condescending you, a fella who's either slightly younger, or less experienced than me ≈ em
- endearing, literary he/him, that young fellow
- endearing, literary he/him, that anthropomorphic male animal
- abbreviation, endearing, literary short for chú bé (“he/him, that little boy”)
Classifier
- endearing, literary indicates an animal, especially an anthropomorphic one
- Chú mèo đi hiaPuss in Boots
- những chú gà trống Gô-loathe "Gallic Roosters;" the French male footballers
Words with chú
Synonyms and antonyms of chú
Antonyms
Example sentences with chú
- Chú chim đó đang đi tìm sâu. The bird was looking for worms.
- Thật là một chú chim xinh đẹp! What a beautiful bird it is!
- Chú mèo con kia dễ thương quá! That kitty is so cute!
- Chú chim lượn trên bầu trời. The bird is in the sky.
- Tôi đã dạy chú chó đó làm trò. I trained the dog to do tricks.
- Chú tôi đã từng đi đến Phần Lan. My uncle has been to Finland.
- Chú tôi gầy nhưng dì tôi lại béo. My uncle is thin, but my aunt is fat.
- Chú tôi đã tặng cho bạn một món quà. My uncle gave you a present.
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, chú could be written as 住, 注, 註. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: chú
chú is literally "uncle (father's younger brother)", and you will use it for any man who is about your parents' age but not older than them.
- Chú ơi, đi chợ Bến Thành bao nhiêu tiền? — Excuse me, how much to Ben Thanh Market? (to a middle-aged driver)
- Cháu chào chú ạ. — Hello. (a young person greeting a friend's father)
- Talking to children, a man calls himself chú: Chú cho con cái kẹo này. — Here, have this sweet.
The matching word for yourself is cháu. If the man is obviously older than your own parents, switch to bác; if he is only a little older than you, anh is better.
✗ Anh ơi to a grey-haired driver can sound overly casual → ✓ Chú ơi. ✗ Chú to a man of 30 → ✓ Anh; he will feel aged.
Note: chú also means "to pay attention" in chú ý (Attention!), which has nothing to do with uncles.
Etymology
From Late Proto-Vietic *cuːʔ.
Frequently asked questions
What does chú mean in English?
chú (noun) means "paternal uncle; father's younger brother".
How do you pronounce chú?
IPA: Hanoi [t͡ɕu˧˦]; Saigon [cʊw˦˥]. Tones: chú — rising tone (sắc).