ngậm

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

Hanoi [ŋəm˧˨ʔ]Huế [ŋəm˨˩ʔ]Saigon [ŋəm˨˩˨] browser voice

Syllables · tones

ngậmheavynặng

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

ngậm means to hold inside one's mouth.

Meanings of ngậm in English

Verb

to hold inside one's mouth

Words with ngậm

ngậm ngùi ngậm nước

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, ngậm could be written as 吟, 𫕖, 唅, 噤. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ŋəmʔ or Proto-Vietic *-ŋamʔ; cognate with Muong ngẫm. Compare also Bolyu ŋəm³¹.

Frequently asked questions

What does ngậm mean in English?

ngậm (verb) means "to hold inside one's mouth".

How do you pronounce ngậm?

IPA: Hanoi [ŋəm˧˨ʔ]; Saigon [ŋəm˨˩˨]. Tones: ngậm — heavy tone (nặng).

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. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.