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tờ

Level ≈A2 (approx.) nounclassifier Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [təː˨˩]Huế [təː˦˩]Saigon [təː˨˩] browser voice
Syllables · tones

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

tờ means sheet.

Meanings of tờ in English

Noun

  1. sheet

Classifier

  1. Indicates paper sheet-based items, such as newspapers (báo), magazines (tạp chí), political flyers (truyền đơn), etc.

Words with tờ

Example sentences with tờ

  • Tôi đang đọc một tờ báo to. I'm reading a big newspaper.
  • Đây là một tờ một trăm Đô-la. This is a hundred dollar bill.
  • Tom đã mua một tờ báo. Tom bought a newspaper.
  • Đây là một tờ 100 Đô-la. This is a hundred dollar bill.
  • Mấy tờ hóa đơn này là sao vậy? What are all these invoices doing here?
  • Đây là một tờ báo. This is a newspaper.
  • Tôi cần một tờ giấy. I need a piece of paper.
  • Làm ơn cho tôi một tờ giấy để viết. Please give me a piece of paper to write on.

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

Usage note: tờ

tờ is the classifier for flat, thin sheets — paper and things made of paper.

  • một tờ giấy — a sheet of paper
  • tờ báo — newspaper
  • hai tờ năm trăm nghìn — two 500,000-dong notes
  • tờ khai — declaration form; tờ rơi — flyer

The banknote use is very practical. At a market: Em có tờ nhỏ hơn không? — Do you have a smaller note? Vietnamese notes are often named by colour and value, but tờ is how you count them.

Compare with nearby classifiers:

  • tờ — one sheet
  • quyển / cuốn — bound books
  • tấm — stiffer flat pieces: photo, ticket, card, board
  • bức — pictures, letters, walls

✗ một cái giấy → ✓ một tờ giấy.

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 詞 (“word; statement”, SV: từ), borrowed from Old Chinese 詞 (OC *ljɯ). Doublet of từ.

Frequently asked questions

What does tờ mean in English?

tờ (noun) means "sheet".

How do you pronounce tờ?

IPA: Hanoi [təː˨˩]; Saigon [təː˨˩]. Tones: tờ — falling tone (huyền).

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.