ngạnh

nounverb Sino-Vietnamese

Hanoi [ŋajŋ̟˧˨ʔ]Huế [ŋɛɲ˨˩ʔ]Saigon [ŋan˨˩˨] browser voice

Syllables · tones

ngạnhheavynặng

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

ngạnh means barb; spines.

Chinese characters: 硬

Meanings of ngạnh in English

Noun

barb (of an arrow, fishhook, etc.)
of catfishes, of fish spines
- ngạnh cá ngáteel-tailed catfish spines

Verb

dated, literary to resist; to defy

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, ngạnh could be written as 梗. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 硬 and 梗.

Frequently asked questions

What does ngạnh mean in English?

ngạnh (noun) means "barb; spines".

How do you pronounce ngạnh?

IPA: Hanoi [ŋajŋ̟˧˨ʔ]; Saigon [ŋan˨˩˨]. Tones: ngạnh — heavy tone (nặng).

Is ngạnh a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. ngạnh is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 硬.

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited. IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.