tàu hoả

Level ≈B2 (approx.) noun Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [taw˨˩ hwaː˧˩]Huế [taw˦˩ hwaː˧˨]Saigon [ta(ː)w˨˩ waː˨˩˦] browser voice

Syllables · tones

tàufallinghuyền hoảdippinghỏi

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

tàu hoả means train.

Meanings of tàu hoả in English

Noun

Northern Vietnam train ≈ xe lửa

Example sentences with tàu hoả

Em gái Tom đã sinh con trên tàu hoả. Tom's sister gave a birth on a train.
Chị của Tom đã sinh con trên tàu hoả. Tom's sister gave a birth on a train.
Tôi thích tàu hoả. I love trains.

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, tàu hoả could be written as 艚火. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

tàu (“craft, vehicle”) + hoả (“fire”).

Frequently asked questions

What does tàu hoả mean in English?

tàu hoả (noun) means "train".

How do you pronounce tàu hoả?

IPA: Hanoi [taw˨˩ hwaː˧˩]; Saigon [ta(ː)w˨˩ waː˨˩˦]. Tones: tàu — falling tone (huyền), hoả — dipping tone (hỏi).

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.