khôn
Hanoi [xon˧˧]Huế [kʰoŋ˧˧]Saigon [kʰoŋ˧˧] browser voice
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
khôn means wise; smart.
Chinese characters: 坤
Meanings of khôn in English
Adjective
- wise; smart
- clever; street-smart
- sapient
Adverb
- literary, before verb impossibly
- nỗi buồn/giận khôn nguôieverlasting sadness/anger
Noun
- trigram 8
- hexagram 2 (䷁)
Words with khôn
Idioms and sayings with khôn
- khôn nhà dại chợ — clever at home but foolish out on the street; a smart aleck among family but timid among strangers
- trứng khôn hơn vịt — the egg is smarter than the duck
Example sentences with khôn
- Khôn thế! How clever!
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, khôn could be written as 坤. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 困 (“difficult”, SV: khốn), with the commonly seen Vietnamese tone A vs. MC tone C correspondence.
Frequently asked questions
What does khôn mean in English?
khôn (adjective) means "wise; smart".
How do you pronounce khôn?
IPA: Hanoi [xon˧˧]; Saigon [kʰoŋ˧˧]. Tones: khôn — level tone (ngang).
Is khôn a Sino-Vietnamese word?
Yes. khôn is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 坤.