lên
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
lên means to go up; up.
Meanings of lên in English
Verb
- to go up, come up, rise
- to get on (a vehicle)
- thẻ lên máy bayboarding pass
- lên xeto get on/in the car
- to be or reach a certain age
- to go to (a more developed area)
- lên thành phốto go to the city
- of a machine to be activated
- bật máy lênto turn on the machine
Adverb
- upwards
Words with lên
Example sentences with lên
- Ông hãy lên xe buýt số 5. You should take the number 5 bus.
- Hai má của cô đỏ rực lên. Her cheeks were bright red.
- Tom có lẽ sẽ tức điên lên. Tom will likely be furious.
- Tom đã giơ ba ngón tay lên. Tom held up three fingers.
- Tai tôi đỏ lên vì cái lạnh. My ears went red from the cold.
- Đừng gắn cái đó lên đầu bạn. Don't attach it to your head.
- Tấm hình này nói lên tất cả. This picture says it all.
- Tôi sẽ lên chuyến tàu 11 giờ. I'm catching the 11:00 train.
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, lên could be written as 蓮, 連, 𨑗, 𨕭. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: lên
lên means "to go up", and it is also how you say "get on" a vehicle.
- Go up: lên tầng ba — go up to the third floor
- Board: lên xe — get on the bus/in the car; lên máy bay — board the plane
- Increase: Giá lên rồi. — Prices have gone up.
- Go to the highlands or city: lên Sa Pa, lên Đà Lạt, lên thành phố
After verbs, lên means "up": đứng lên (stand up), mặc lên (put on). It also turns into encouragement: Cố lên! — Come on! You can do it!
Cố lên! is shouted at football matches, exams and runners — a word to know.
Opposite: xuống (go down, get off).
A child's age: Cháu lên năm. — She's turning five (a traditional way of stating a young child's age).
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic *leːɲ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *luŋ ~ *luəŋ ~ *ləŋ (“above, on”) (reconstruction in Shorto, 2006); related to trên. Cognate with Muong liênh, Chut [Rục] liːŋ¹, Samre liɲ ("to go up; on"), Khmer ឡើង (laəng), Semelai leŋ ("upwards, upstream"), Juang aliŋ-ta ("above, from above, on; up, upon"), Korku liɲ ("up, above").
Frequently asked questions
What does lên mean in English?
lên (verb) means "to go up; up".
How do you pronounce lên?
IPA: Hanoi [len˧˧]; Saigon [ləːn˧˧]. Tones: lên — level tone (ngang).