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thà

Level ≈B1 (approx.) adverb Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [tʰaː˨˩]Huế [tʰaː˦˩]Saigon [tʰaː˨˩] browser voice
Syllables · tones
thàfallinghuyền

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

Meanings of thà in English

Adverb

  1. before verbs used to signify a better choice or preference
    • Thà chết còn hơn.I'd rather die / I'd be caught dead rather.

Example sentences with thà

  • Tôi thà chết chứ không bỏ cuộc. I'd rather die than give up.
  • Tôi thà điên còn hơn buồn. I prefer to be crazy than sad.
  • Tôi thà làm chim còn hơn làm cá. I'd rather be a bird than a fish.
  • Tôi thà nhịn đói còn hơn ăn cắp. I would rather starve than steal.
  • Tôi thà chết còn hơn là bỏ cuộc. I'd rather die than give up.
  • Tôi thà không. I'd rather not.
  • Cô ấy viết "thà chết trẻ còn hơn sống già" lên xe máy của cô như thể đó là khẩu hiệu của cô. As her motto, she wrote "better to die young than to get old" on her motorcycle.

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, thà could be written as 蛇, 他, 時, 𪰰. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce thà?

IPA: Hanoi [tʰaː˨˩]; Saigon [tʰaː˨˩]. Tones: thà — 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.