lúa
Hanoi [luə˧˦]Huế [luə˨˩˦]Saigon [luə˦˥] browser voice
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
lúa means rice; paddy; unhusked rice.
Classifier: cây — e.g. một cây lúa (one rice)
Meanings of lúa in English
Noun
- rice (with seed still in stalk)
- Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam paddy; unhusked rice ≈ thóc
- slang money
- Tuần này hết lúa rồi, mượn gì thì để sau.I'm broke this week, come back later if you want to borrow (some bucks).
Adjective
- unrefined; rather plain; shabby (short for hai lúa (“rustic; bumpkinish”))
- Đúng là nhìn hơi lúa, mà vẫn bán hàng ầm ầm...It really does look shabby, but it's still selling wildly...
- Chàng trai 30 tuổi nhìn hơi lúa hứa sẽ không để bạn gái chịu khổ.The guy is thirty years old, looks rather plain, and promises not to let his girlfriend suffer.
- rather cheap; low quality (short for hai lúa (“rustic; bumpkinish”))
- Kem hộp màu vàng, nhựa rẻ tiền, nhìn hơi lúa.The cream is in a yellow pack, cheap plastic, looks rather low quality.
Verb
- Southern Vietnam, dated, intransitive, slang to fail (a task or an academic examination)
- Trò ấy lúa rồi!That student has failed [the test]!
- Công việc lúa cả rồi!Business is now screwed.
Words with lúa
Example sentences with lúa
- Lúa đã được thu hoạch. The rice crop was harvested.
- Chúng ta trồng lúa. We grow rice.
- Chúng tôi trồng lúa. We grow rice.
- Tôi trồng lúa. I grow rice.
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, lúa could be written as 穭, 𧀦, 魯. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Vietic *ʔa-lɔʔ (“paddy rice”) (Ferlus, 2007). Cognate with Muong Bi lõ and Arem alăắ.
Frequently asked questions
What does lúa mean in English?
lúa (noun) means "rice; paddy; unhusked rice".
How do you pronounce lúa?
IPA: Hanoi [luə˧˦]; Saigon [luə˦˥]. Tones: lúa — rising tone (sắc).
What classifier is used with lúa?
Common classifiers: cây — for example "một cây lúa" (one rice).