tổ tiên

noun Sino-Vietnamese

Hanoi [to˧˩ tiən˧˧]Huế [tow˧˨ tiəŋ˧˧]Saigon [tow˨˩˦ tiəŋ˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

tổdippinghỏi tiênlevelngang

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

tổ tiên means ancestor; ancestors; forefathers.

Chinese characters: 祖先

Meanings of tổ tiên in English

Noun

ancestor, ancestors, forefathers ≈ ông vải

Example sentences with tổ tiên

Tổ tiên của bạn đến từ đâu vậy? Where do your ancestors come from?

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 祖先.

Frequently asked questions

What does tổ tiên mean in English?

tổ tiên (noun) means "ancestor; ancestors; forefathers".

How do you pronounce tổ tiên?

IPA: Hanoi [to˧˩ tiən˧˧]; Saigon [tow˨˩˦ tiəŋ˧˧]. Tones: tổ — dipping tone (hỏi), tiên — level tone (ngang).

Is tổ tiên a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. tổ tiên is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 祖先.

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. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.