tả

Level ≈B1 (approx.) verbnounadjective Sino-Vietnamese Top 3,000 most common

Hanoi [taː˧˩]Huế [taː˧˨]Saigon [taː˨˩˦] browser voice

Syllables · tones

tảdippinghỏi

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

tả means to describe; to depict; to picture.

Chinese characters: 瀉

Meanings of tả in English

Verb

to describe; to depict; to picture

Noun

left; left wing
in compounds left

Adjective

crumbling; pulverised; ragged

Noun

abbreviation, informal short for dịch tả (“cholera”)

Words with tả

cánh tả tả khuynh tả ngạn tả phái chính tả diễn tả đặc tả gợi tả miêu tả mô tả tả tơi tả chân

Example sentences with tả

Cô ấy đã mắc bệnh tả. She has caught cholera.
Quyển "Anh em nhà Karamazov" hay không tả được! The book "The Brothers Karamazov" is ineffably good!
Không có ngôn từ nào có thể lột tả được vẻ đẹp này. This beauty can't be described in words.
Cô ấy hoàn toàn không phải là một người phụ nữ xinh đẹp, nhưng cô ấy lại có một cái duyên không thể tả. She is not at all a beauty, but she has an indescribable charm.

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, tả could be written as 𪭥. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 瀉 (“to have diarrhoea”).

Frequently asked questions

What does tả mean in English?

tả (verb) means "to describe; to depict; to picture".

How do you pronounce tả?

IPA: Hanoi [taː˧˩]; Saigon [taː˨˩˦]. Tones: tả — dipping tone (hỏi).

Is tả a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. tả is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 瀉.

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.