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tư

Level ≈B1 (approx.) adjectivenumeral Sino-Vietnamese Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [tɨ˧˧]Huế [tɨ˧˧]Saigon [tɨ˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
tưlevelngang

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

tư means private.

Chinese characters: 私

Meanings of tư in English

Adjective

  1. formal, of a school private ≈ riêngtư thục
    • việc tưprivate affairs

Numeral

  1. fourth
    • ba phần tưthree quarters
    • thứ tưfourth/Wednesday
    • tháng tưfourth month/April
  2. Southern Vietnam, of a sibling third-born
    • chú tư"fourth" uncle (your grandparents' third child, who's male and who's younger than one of your parents)
    • anh tư"fourth" big brother (your parents' third child who's your older brother)
    • chị tư"fourth" big sister (your parents' third child who's your older sister, or a woman whose husband's his parents' third child)
  3. Northern Vietnam, in compounds four
    • hai mươi tưtwenty four
    • một trăm linh tưone hundred and four

Words with tư

tháng tưthứ tưriêng tưtư chấttư-dụctư hữutư lợitư nhântư thụcvô tưtư tưởngtư cáchtư duytư biệntư bảntư liệutư lệnhtư lựtư pháptư sảntư thôngtư thếtư vấn

Synonyms and antonyms of tư

Antonyms

côngchung

Example sentences with tư

  • Gấp giấy làm tư. Fold the paper in four.

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, tư could be written as 四, 𦊛. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Usage note: tư

tư is the alternative form of "four" used in specific places — plus the meaning "private".

  • After mươi: hai mươi tư (24), năm mươi tư (54) — alongside bốn
  • Months and weekdays: tháng Tư (April), thứ Tư (Wednesday)
  • Ordinal: thứ tư (fourth); fraction: một phần tư (a quarter)
  • Southern birth-order names: anh Tư, chị Tư = the third child (counting starts at Hai)

Not after mười: 14 is mười bốn, never mười tư.

Second meaning (Sino-Vietnamese): "private, personal": tư nhân — private (sector), trường tư — private school, việc tư — personal matters. And "think": tư duy — thinking.

Shortened form in casual speech: hai tư = 24, ba tư = 34.

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 四 (“four”, SV: tứ).

Frequently asked questions

What does tư mean in English?

tư (adjective) means "private".

How do you pronounce tư?

IPA: Hanoi [tɨ˧˧]; Saigon [tɨ˧˧]. Tones: tư — level tone (ngang).

Is tư a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. tư is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 私.

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.