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qua

Level ≈A1 (approx.) prepositionadjectiveverb Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [kwaː˧˧]Huế [kwaː˧˧]Saigon [waː˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
qualevelngang

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

qua means through; across.

Chinese characters: 過

Meanings of qua in English

Preposition

  1. through, across (from one side to the other)
    • ô-tô chạy qua cầuthe car crosses the bridge
    • xe vượt qua đèothe car crosses the mountain pass
    • nhìn qua cửa sổto look through the window
  2. by means of, by, over, using
    • nói chuyện qua điện thoạito converse over the telephone
    • học tập qua kinh nghiệmto learn by experience
    • hiểu biết qua thực tếto understand through reality
  3. by way of

Adjective

  1. last (most recent)
    • Đêm qua chớp bể mưa nguồn, hỏi người quân tử có buồn hay không?literally, "Last night, it rained thunderously; I wonder, my love, if you are blue?"
  2. ago (before now)

Verb

  1. transitive to cross (to move relatively); to traverse
    • Qua cầu dừng bước trông cầu, cầu bao nhiêu nhịp em sầu bấy nhiêu.literally, "[As I] cross the bridge, [I] stop to look at it; my sorrows multiply with the number of its arches."
  2. intransitive to have transpire, to take place, to come to pass
    • tai qua nạn khỏiliterally, "disaster to pass [and] ordeal to be relieved"
    • nhắc lại việc đã quato recall events that have transpired
  3. intransitive to go over to; to spend time at
    • Ông ấy qua Pháp dự một hội nghị.He went over to France for a conference.
  4. transitive to survive
    • Bà cụ khó qua được đêm nay.The old woman is unlikely to survive the night.
  5. transitive to escape, to elude
    • Mọi việc trong cơ quan không qua được sự theo dõi của ông ta.Nothing in the agency can escape his watchful eye.
  6. transitive to go to the front of
    • Qua đình ngả nón trông đình, đình bao nhiêu ngói thương mình bấy nhiêu.literally, "[As I] enter the [courtyard] of the đình (Vietnamese communal houses), [I] tip my nón (leaf hat) to take in the scenery; my self-pity multiplies with the number of tiles on its roof."
  7. transitive to trump, to outweigh, to prevail over
    • khôn chẳng qua lẽ, khỏe chẳng qua lờiliterally, "Shrewdness can't trump rightousness; brute strength can't trump wise words." / It is advisable to respond with temperance, rather than with cunningness or force.
  8. intransitive to drift past; to elapse ≈ trôi qua
    • Ngày qua ngàyday after day

Adverb

  1. across (from one side to the other), through
    • nhìn quato look past
    • nhảy quato hop across
  2. in passing
    • dặn qua mấy lờito give a few words of advice in passing
  3. cursorily, superficially
    • biết qua thế thôito know a thing or two about it
    • đọc qua vài trangto skim over a few pages
  4. completely

Pronoun

  1. Southern Vietnam, archaic, men's speech or Central Vietnam I; me ≈ tatôi
    • Hôm qua qua bảo qua qua mà qua không qua. Hôm nay qua không bảo qua qua mà qua lại qua.Yesterday ah said ah'd cuhm over but ah ain't cuhm. Today ah ain't say ah'd cuhm over but ah came.
    • Qua đã nói với bậu, nhưng bậu chẳng nghe.Ah told ya but ya wouldn’t listen.

Words with qua

hôm quabăng quakinh quaqua đờiqua mặtqua khỏiqua loaqua lạiqua mắtqua quýt

Idioms and sayings with qua

Synonyms and antonyms of qua

Synonyms

trước

Example sentences with qua

  • Tối qua cô ấy bị cảm nhẹ. She had a touch of a cold last night.
  • Tối qua tụi bây ngủ ở đâu? Where did you sleep last night?
  • Tối qua bạn đi ngủ khi nào? When did you go to bed last night?
  • Anh ấy hay tạt qua chỗ tôi. He usually drops in at my place.
  • Tụi nó đã làm tình tối qua. They made love last night.
  • Tom sẽ không qua đêm ở đây. Tom won't spend the night here.
  • Tôi đã nhìn lướt qua anh ấy. I caught a glimpse of him.
  • Khi mùa hè qua, mùa thu đến. When summer ends, autumn comes.

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, qua could be written as 戈. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 過 (“pass”). Doublet of quá.

Frequently asked questions

What does qua mean in English?

qua (preposition) means "through; across".

How do you pronounce qua?

IPA: Hanoi [kwaː˧˧]; Saigon [waː˧˧]. Tones: qua — level tone (ngang).

Is qua a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. qua is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 過.

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.