TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

quê

Level ≈B1 (approx.) nounadjective Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [kwe˧˧]Huế [kwej˧˧]Saigon [wej˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
quêlevelngang

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

quê means the countryside; hometown.

Meanings of quê in English

Noun

  1. the countryside
  2. hometown (place of birth or residence) ≈ nơi sinh
    • Tết này có về quê không?Will you go back to your hometown this New Year?
  3. one's parent's, especially one's father's, birthplace ≈ quê quán

Adjective

  1. Southern Vietnam very embarrassing; mortifying
    • Mẹ ở nhà đi. Con lớn rồi có mẹ đi cùng thì quê lắm.Just stay home. I'm a grown-up and it's embarrassing to be chaperoned by you.
  2. abbreviation short for quê mùa (“typical of quê mùa (“typical of countrymen; rural, lame and tacky”)

Words with quê

đồng quênhà quêquê hươngquê mùaquê nhàquê quánthôn quêchọc quêquê cũ

Example sentences with quê

  • Đừng quê bảo chị ấy nhá. Don't forget to tell her that.
  • Yanni sống ở một vùng quê xinh đẹp. Yanni lives in a pretty rural area.
  • Quê bạn ở đâu? Where is your hometown?
  • Các câu lạc bộ địa phương là một phần thiết yếu của cuộc sống làng quê. Local clubs are an essential part of village life.
  • Bức tranh đó là sự thể hiện tuyệt đẹp về một làng quê ven sông Việt Nam. That painting is a beautiful rendition of a Vietnamese riverside village.

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, quê could be written as 圭, 𬫀. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Vietic *k-veːr (“village”), itself a *k- prefixed derivative of Proto-Vietic *veːr (“to return”) (whence về). Cognate with Muong quêl (“village”) and Chut [Rục] kəveːl¹. Compare also Proto-Katuic *wiil ~ *weel (whence Pacoh veil).

Frequently asked questions

What does quê mean in English?

quê (noun) means "the countryside; hometown".

How do you pronounce quê?

IPA: Hanoi [kwe˧˧]; Saigon [wej˧˧]. Tones: quê — level tone (ngang).

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.