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kinh

Level ≈B2 (approx.) adjectiveverbadverb Sino-Vietnamese Top 5,000 most common
Hanoi [kïŋ˧˧]Huế [kɨn˧˧]Saigon [kɨn˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
kinhlevelngang

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

kinh means ethnically Vietnamese.

Chinese characters: 京

Meanings of kinh in English

Adjective

  1. of people ethnically Vietnamese ≈ Việt
    • người Kinhthe ethnically Vietnamese
    • dân tộc Kinhthe Vietnamese ethnic group

Verb

  1. colloquial to be afraid; to be terrified

Adjective

  1. informal remarkable, especially if also horrifying or upsetting at the same time ≈ ghêgớm
    • kinh tởmdegenerate; disgusting
    • Thế mới kinh!Now that's what I call over the top!
    • Kinh thật!Man, that was horrible!

Adverb

  1. informal remarkably, especially if also horrifyingly or upsettingly at the same time ≈ ghêgớmvật

Noun

  1. Chinese classic
  2. sacred text of a certain religion
    • đọc kinhto read Buddhist chants/sutras / a Chinese classic / the Bible
    • Kinh Thánhthe Holy Bible
    • Kinh Cựu Ướcthe Old Testament
  3. prayer
    • cầu kinhto pray
  4. abbreviation short for kinh nguyệt
    • đau bụng kinhto have a menstrual cramp
  5. abbreviation short for động kinh

Noun

  1. abbreviation, historical clipping of kinh đô (“feudal capital”)
    • Các sĩ tử lên kinh ứng thí.Learned people are coming to the capital to attend the exam.

Noun

  1. eye dialect spelling of kênh, representing Central Vietnam and Southern Vietnam Vietnamese

Words with kinh

động kinhkinh dịkinh hãikinh hoàngkinh khiếpkinh khủngkinh ngạchành kinhkinh tếkinh doanhkinh nghiệmKinh Thánhkinh phíkinh giớikinh kìkinh kỳkinh nguyệtkinh niênkinh quakinh sợkinh truyệnkinh tuyếnkinh điểnkinh đôkinh độ

Example sentences with kinh

  • Điều đó kinh tởm tuyệt đối! It's absolutely disgusting!
  • Cô ấy bị động kinh. She has epilepsy.
  • Cô ấy đọc kinh Quran. She reads the Quran.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 京 (“capital”). Doublet of kinh.

Frequently asked questions

What does kinh mean in English?

kinh (adjective) means "ethnically Vietnamese".

How do you pronounce kinh?

IPA: Hanoi [kïŋ˧˧]; Saigon [kɨn˧˧]. Tones: kinh — level tone (ngang).

Is kinh a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. kinh is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 京.

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.