lầu

Level ≈B2 (approx.) noun Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [ləw˨˩]Huế [ləw˦˩]Saigon [ləw˨˩] browser voice

Syllables · tones

lầufallinghuyền

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

lầu means floor/storey.

Meanings of lầu in English

Noun

Southern Vietnam floor/storey (except the ground floor/storey), ≈ tầng
- lầu 2floor one level above the ground floor; i.e. 2nd floor (US)
- nhà lầumulti-storey house
- nhảy lầu tự tửto jump off a [high] floor to kill oneself
historical a multistory building
Southern Vietnam, nonstandard, rare floor/storey (including the ground floor/storey) ≈ tầng
- lầu trệtground floor
- lầu 1floor one level above the ground floor; i.e. 1st floor (Europe)

Words with lầu

cao lầu lầu xanh nhà lầu

Example sentences with lầu

Tom đã nhìn thấy máu trên lầu. Tom saw blood on the floor.
Bạn đã lên lầu rồi à? Did you go upstairs?
Tôi có thể nghe thấy tiếng mọi người đi lại trên lầu. I could hear people moving about upstairs.

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, lầu could be written as 樓, 楼. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 樓 (SV: lâu).

Frequently asked questions

What does lầu mean in English?

lầu (noun) means "floor/storey".

How do you pronounce lầu?

IPA: Hanoi [ləw˨˩]; Saigon [ləw˨˩]. Tones: lầu — falling tone (huyền).

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.