ong

Level ≈B1 (approx.) noun Top 3,000 most common

Hanoi [ʔawŋ͡m˧˧]Huế [ʔawŋ͡m˧˧]Saigon [ʔawŋ͡m˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

onglevelngang

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

ong means bee.

Classifier: con — e.g. một con ong (one bee)

Meanings of ong in English

Noun

Words with ong

ăn ong mật ong ong bắp cày ong bầu ong bướm ong chúa ong khoái ong mật ong ruồi ong ong

Example sentences with ong

Ong bị đói trước khi di cư. Bees get hungry before migrating.
Con ong đã bay vào hoa, rồi hút mật. The bee flew to the flower and drank the nectar.
Mày lúc nào cũng chăm chỉ như con ong. You are always as busy as a bee.
Hoa thu hút ong. Flowers attract bees.
Bạn lúc nào cũng chăm chỉ như một con ong. You are always as busy as a bee.
Ong ăn gì? What do bees eat?
Ong dễ thương. Bees are cute.
Sách vở tựa như bầy ong, đem tinh hoa từ trí tuệ này sang trí tuệ khác. Books are the bees that carry pollen from one mind to another.

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, ong could be written as 蜂, 螉. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Vietic *ʔɔːŋ (“honey bee”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *ʔɔːŋ (“wasp; hornet”). Cognate with Thavung ออง (“wasp”), Pacoh hong (“large bee, wasp”), Bahnar ong (“wasp”), Khmu ʔɔːŋ ("wasp"), Mon ဟိုၚ် (hang, “hornet”), Semelai hɔŋ ("hornet").

Frequently asked questions

What does ong mean in English?

ong (noun) means "bee".

How do you pronounce ong?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔawŋ͡m˧˧]; Saigon [ʔawŋ͡m˧˧]. Tones: ong — level tone (ngang).

What classifier is used with ong?

Common classifiers: con — for example "một con ong" (one bee).

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.