dám

Level ≈B1 (approx.) verb Top 3,000 most common

Hanoi [zaːm˧˦]Huế [jaːm˦˧˥]Saigon [jaːm˦˥] browser voice

Syllables · tones

dámrisingsắc

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

dám means to dare to do something.

Meanings of dám in English

Verb

to dare to do something
dialectal to be likely to happen

Verb

to weep, to cry ≈ khóc

Example sentences with dám

Mày gan lắm. Dám bơ tao à. You must have some nerve to ignore me.
Sao anh ta lại dám phàn nàn cơ chứ? How dare he complain?
Bạn giỏi lắm, dám phớt lờ tôi cơ đấy! You must have some nerve to ignore me.
Điều tệ nhất là không ai dám phản đối. It is the worst when no one dares to object.
Sao bạn dám nói những điều như vậy về Tom! How dare you say such things about Tom!
Tôi thách bạn dám thách tôi bất cứ điều gì. I dare you to dare me anything.
Làm sao cậu dám chắc Tom sẽ đến đây vào ngày mai? What makes you so sure that Tom will be here tomorrow?
Này thằng chó, mày dám trộm xe của tao à. Bây giờ tao sẽ đấm vỡ mặt mày đấy. You stole my bike, and now I'm going to break your face.

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, dám could be written as 敢, 噉, 㦑, 𪾋. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Attested as dĕám in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651). Cognate with Chut [Mày] katam³ (Babaev & Samarina, 2018).

Frequently asked questions

What does dám mean in English?

dám (verb) means "to dare to do something".

How do you pronounce dám?

IPA: Hanoi [zaːm˧˦]; Saigon [jaːm˦˥]. Tones: dám — rising tone (sắc).

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.