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sắc

Level ≈B2 (approx.) adjectivenoun Sino-Vietnamese Top 5,000 most common
Hanoi [sak̚˧˦]Huế [ʂak̚˦˧˥]Saigon [ʂak̚˦˥] browser voice
Syllables · tones
sắcrisingsắc

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

sắc means sharp.

Chinese characters: 色

Meanings of sắc in English

Adjective

  1. Northern Vietnam sharp (able to cut easily) ≈ bén
    • thanh sắcthe phonemic tone as in the word sắc; either of the phonetic tones as in the words sắc (a checked tone) and sắn
    • sắc sảosharp(-minded)

Noun

  1. a variant of a color; a shade, a tone, a tint, etc.
    • sắc mặta complexion
    • thất sắc(of the face) to become pale
  2. idiomatic, literary color ≈ màu
    • bảy sắc cầu vồngthe seven colors of the rainbow
  3. rūpa (material, physical)
  4. abbreviation, archaic ellipsis of sắc đẹp or nhan sắc (“womanly beauty”)
    • tửu sắcliquor and beautiful women, what men enjoy the most
    • tài sắc vẹn toàn(of a woman) both talented and beautiful

Noun

  1. historical an imperial order; an imperial edict

Words with sắc

dấu sắcsắc bénsắc lẻmsắc nhọnsắc sảothanh sắcbiến sắcđặc sắcháo sắcmàu sắcnhan sắcsắc đẹpsắc màusắc mặtsắc tháithất sắcxuất sắcsắc lệnhsắc phụcsắc tốsắc tộc

Synonyms and antonyms of sắc

Antonyms

cùn

Example sentences with sắc

  • Tom là một nhà văn suất sắc. Tom is an excellent writer.
  • Dao này chẳng sắc gì cả. This knife is not at all sharp.
  • Con dao này rất sắc. That knife is really sharp.

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, sắc could be written as 勅, 勑, 銫, 色. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 色 (“color; beauty”).

Frequently asked questions

What does sắc mean in English?

sắc (adjective) means "sharp".

How do you pronounce sắc?

IPA: Hanoi [sak̚˧˦]; Saigon [ʂak̚˦˥]. Tones: sắc — rising tone (sắc).

Is sắc a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. sắc is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 色.

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.