TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

nếm

Level ≈B1 (approx.) verb Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [nem˧˦]Huế [nem˦˧˥]Saigon [nem˦˥] browser voice
Syllables · tones
nếmrisingsắc

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

nếm means to experience something unpleasant.

Meanings of nếm in English

Verb

  1. transitive to taste in order to check the flavor
    • nếm canhto taste a broth and check its flavor
    • nếm thử miếng bánhto taste a piece of bánh and check its flavor
  2. figurative, transitive to experience something unpleasant
    • nếm mùi cay đắngto be left with a bitter taste
    • nếm đònto have a taste of the [cane, bat]; to be beaten

Words with nếm

nếm mật nằm gainếm trải

Example sentences with nếm

  • Nếm quả xa kê đi. Taste the breadfruit.
  • Nếm quả sa kê đi. Taste the breadfruit.
  • Tôi đã nếm thử. I tasted it.
  • Bạn nếm nó chưa? Did you taste it?
  • Nếm đi. Taste it.
  • Một khi bạn đã nếm mùi cờ bạc, thì rất khó để từ bỏ nó. Once you get the taste for gambling, it's hard to give it up.

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, nếm could be written as 𫫞, 唸. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ɗeːmʔ. Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 恁 (MC nyim) (modern SV: nhậm).

Frequently asked questions

What does nếm mean in English?

nếm (verb) means "to experience something unpleasant".

How do you pronounce nếm?

IPA: Hanoi [nem˧˦]; Saigon [nem˦˥]. Tones: nếm — rising tone (sắc).

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.