họ
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
họ means they; them; family name.
Meanings of họ in English
Pronoun
- dialectal, formal, regular usage in Northern Vietnam they/them (used in formal situations or towards people whom the speaker feels neutral about)
Noun
Adjective
- in compounds being a cousin
- anh/chị họa male/female cousin who can be traced back to an ancestor who is/was an elder sibling to yours
- em họa cousin who can be traced back to an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to yours
Words with họ
Example sentences with họ
- Họ rất vội vã đi về nhà. They were in a hurry to get home.
- Tất cả họ đều đã rời đi. They all left.
- Họ đưa nó lại cho cô ấy. They gave it back to her.
- Bạn đã nói gì với họ vậy? What did you say to them?
- Họ có thể đi bằng xe hỏa. They can go by train.
- Họ lỗ mất tận 1 triệu yên. Their losses reached one million yen.
- Cha họ là một tài xế taxi. Their father is a taxi driver.
- Họ đã thảo luận vấn đề đó. They discussed the problem.
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, họ could be written as 戶, 戸, 户, 𢩜. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: họ
họ means "they", but it is also the word for "family name" — two meanings worth knowing early.
As a pronoun: Họ đến từ Pháp. — They come from France. It is neutral and common in writing. In conversation, referring to respected people as họ can sound a little detached; Vietnamese often say các anh ấy, các bác ấy, mọi người instead.
As "surname": Anh họ gì? — What's your family name? Vietnamese names put the family name first: in Nguyễn Văn An, họ is Nguyễn, and people are called by the last part, An. So calling someone "Mr. Nguyen" is unusual; say anh An.
Relatives: anh họ, chị họ, em họ = cousins (older male, older female, younger). họ hàng = relatives.
✗ Calling your Vietnamese colleague "Nguyen" because it is the surname → ✓ use the given name with a kinship word: chị Lan.
Etymology
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 戶 (“family”, SV: hộ). Doublet of cửa and hộ.
Frequently asked questions
What does họ mean in English?
họ (pronoun) means "they; them; family name".
How do you pronounce họ?
IPA: Hanoi [hɔ˧˨ʔ]; Saigon [hɔ˨˩˨]. Tones: họ — heavy tone (nặng).