dừa

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

Hanoi [zɨə˨˩]Huế [jɨə˦˩]Saigon [jɨə˨˩] browser voice

Syllables · tones

dừafallinghuyền

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

dừa means a coconut.

Classifier: cây, trái, quả — e.g. một cây dừa (one coconut)

Meanings of dừa in English

Noun

a coconut

Noun

water primrose, especially Ludwigia adscendens ≈ dừa nước

Verb

colloquial to pass the buck

Words with dừa

dừa xiêm nước cốt dừa nước dừa dừa nước

Example sentences with dừa

Chặt đôi quả dừa ra. Break the coconut in half.
Tom uống sữa dừa. Tom drank coconut milk.

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, dừa could be written as 梌, 椰, 荼. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Compare 椰 (MC yae) (SV: da), itself only attested since the Jin dynasty.

Frequently asked questions

What does dừa mean in English?

dừa (noun) means "a coconut".

How do you pronounce dừa?

IPA: Hanoi [zɨə˨˩]; Saigon [jɨə˨˩]. Tones: dừa — falling tone (huyền).

What classifier is used with dừa?

Common classifiers: cây, trái, quả — for example "một cây dừa" (one a coconut).

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.