khó
Hanoi [xɔ˧˦]Huế [kʰɔ˨˩˦]Saigon [kʰɔ˦˥] browser voice
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
khó means difficult; tough.
Meanings of khó in English
Adjective
- difficult; tough
- euphemistic poor (not rich)
- of a person hard to get along with; hard to please
Words with khó
Synonyms and antonyms of khó
Antonyms
Example sentences with khó
- Tom đã tưởng là Mary khó gần. Tom thought Mary was difficult to get along with.
- Bắt thỏ rừng bằng tay thì khó. It is not easy to catch a hare with your bare hands.
- Tôi thấy điều này khó tin quá. It is hard for me to believe this.
- Quyển sách này khá là khó đọc. This book is quite difficult to read.
- Tôi thấy khó dậy trước sáu giờ. It is difficult for me to get up before six.
- Thật khó mà thoát khỏi số phận. There is no escape from fate.
- Tiếng Việt thật sự rất khó học. Vietnamese is really hard to learn.
- Tiếng Nhật là một ngôn ngữ khó. Japanese is a hard language.
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, khó could be written as 苦, 庫, 𧁷, 𧁹. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
From Late Proto-Vietic *kʰɔːʔ, from Middle Chinese 苦 (MC khuX) (SV: khổ). Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] kʰɔː³. Doublet of khổ.
Frequently asked questions
What does khó mean in English?
khó (adjective) means "difficult; tough".
How do you pronounce khó?
IPA: Hanoi [xɔ˧˦]; Saigon [kʰɔ˦˥]. Tones: khó — rising tone (sắc).