phà

nounverb

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

Syllables · tones

phàfallinghuyền

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

phà means ferry.

Classifier: con, chiếc — e.g. một con phà (one ferry)

Meanings of phà in English

Noun

ferry

Verb

to blow air out

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, phà could be written as 𠶊, 𡀥, 波. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Frequently asked questions

What does phà mean in English?

phà (noun) means "ferry".

How do you pronounce phà?

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

What classifier is used with phà?

Common classifiers: con, chiếc — for example "một con phà" (one ferry).

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.