TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

tên

Level ≈A1 (approx.) nounclassifier Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ten˧˧]Huế [ten˧˧]Saigon [təːn˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones

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

tên means name.

Classifier: cái — e.g. một cái tên (one name)

Meanings of tên in English

Noun

  1. given name ≈ tên gọi
    • Tôi tên là Vân. / Tên tôi là Vân.My name is Vân.
  2. name

Noun

  1. arrow ≈ mũi tên

Noun

  1. derogatory, informal person ≈ gãthằng
    • Băng đó có tám tên.There are eight people in that gang.

Classifier

  1. Indicates hostile people, such as (enemy) soldiers (lính), criminals (tội phạm), etc.

Words with tên

Synonyms and antonyms of tên

Synonyms

Example sentences with tên

  • Tôi là Tom. Tên bạn là gì? I'm Tom. What's your name?
  • Xin lỗi, chỗ này tên là gì? Excuse me, what is the name of this place?
  • Công ty chỗ cậu làm tên gì? What's the name of the company you work for?
  • Đó là môt cái tên Việt Nam. It's a Vietnamese name.
  • Thợ săn bị mất ống đựng tên. The hunter lost his quiver.
  • Tôi đã quên tên của bộ phim. I've forgotten the name of the movie.
  • Tom đã có tên trên danh sách. Tom was on the list.
  • Tên người dùng của bạn là gì? What's your username?

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, tên could be written as 先, 𥏍, 𠸜, 𠸛. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 箭 (“arrow”, SV: tiễn).

Frequently asked questions

What does tên mean in English?

tên (noun) means "name".

How do you pronounce tên?

IPA: Hanoi [ten˧˧]; Saigon [təːn˧˧]. Tones: tên — level tone (ngang).

What classifier is used with tên?

Common classifiers: cái — for example "một cái tên" (one name).

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.