rao

verb Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [zaːw˧˧]Huế [ʐaːw˧˧]Saigon [ɹaːw˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

raolevelngang

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

rao means to announce; to advertise; to hawk.

Meanings of rao in English

Verb

to announce; to advertise; to hawk

Words with rao

rao giảng rêu rao rao vặt

Example sentences with rao

Nhà của ngươi đang rao bán. Your house is for sale.

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, rao could be written as 牢, 哰, 𢭂, 嗂. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Baxter & Sagart (2014:169) propose that this is non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 譟 (SV: táo). Sidwell (2024:xx) proposes that this is inherited from Proto-Austroasiatic *kra:w (“call out (v.)”); even if so, semantic influence from Chinese is still possible (see also non (“young, tender”)).

Frequently asked questions

What does rao mean in English?

rao (verb) means "to announce; to advertise; to hawk".

How do you pronounce rao?

IPA: Hanoi [zaːw˧˧]; Saigon [ɹaːw˧˧]. Tones: rao — 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. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.