chén
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
chén means rice bowl.
Meanings of chén in English
Noun
- small handleless porcelain cup that can be held with three fingers for drinking rice alcohol or tea, similar to a small shot glass
- Chén Thánhthe Holy Grail
- chén tràteacup
- Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam rice bowl (small bowl from which rice is typically eaten) ≈ bát
Verb
- colloquial, informal to dine
Words with chén
Idioms and sayings with chén
- chén chú chén anh — toasting and drinking with each other
Example sentences with chén
- Tom rửa chén xong rồi. Tom finished doing the dishes.
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, chén could be written as 𱔩, 盞, 𥗜, 𡃹. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: chén
chén is a small bowl or cup, and its meaning shifts between North and South.
- South: chén = rice bowl. Cho thêm một chén cơm. — Another bowl of rice, please.
- North: chén = small cup for tea or rice wine. một chén trà — a cup of tea; một chén rượu — a cup of rice wine. A rice bowl is bát.
Washing up: rửa chén (South) = rửa bát (North) — do the dishes.
In casual Northern speech, chén as a verb means "to eat or drink with gusto": Đi chén một bữa! — Let's go have a feast!
Tip: if a Southerner offers you một chén chè, expect a bowl of sweet dessert soup; in Hanoi, chè (tea) in a chén is a small cup of green tea.
Etymology
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 盞 (“small cup”, SV: trản).
Frequently asked questions
What does chén mean in English?
chén (noun) means "rice bowl".
How do you pronounce chén?
IPA: Hanoi [t͡ɕɛn˧˦]; Saigon [cɛŋ˦˥]. Tones: chén — rising tone (sắc).
What classifier is used with chén?
Common classifiers: cái — for example "một cái chén" (one rice bowl).