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thư

Level ≈A1 (approx.) nouncombining form Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [tʰɨ˧˧]Huế [tʰɨ˧˧]Saigon [tʰɨ˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones

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

thư means letter.

Chinese characters: 書 Classifier: bức, lá — e.g. một bức thư (one letter)

Meanings of thư in English

Noun

  1. postal letter
    • hòm thư điện tửan e-mail

Combining form

  1. only used in tiểu thư

Words with thư

Example sentences with thư

  • Cô ta đã đọc xong lá thư. She finished reading the letter.
  • Cô ấy đã đọc xong bức thư. She finished reading the letter.
  • Họ đã viết lá thư khi nào? When did they write the letter?
  • Bà tôi đã gửi thư sáng nay. My grandmother posted the letter this morning.
  • Tôi đã viết một lá thư rồi. I've already written a letter.
  • Cô ấy viết tay bức thư này. She wrote the letter in her own hand.
  • Đây là bức thư dành cho bạn. Here is your letter.
  • Tôi cần phải viết một lá thư. I have to write a letter.

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, thư could be written as 𪢱. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 書 (“document; letter”).

Frequently asked questions

What does thư mean in English?

thư (noun) means "letter".

How do you pronounce thư?

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

Is thư a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. thư is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 書.

What classifier is used with thư?

Common classifiers: bức, lá — for example "một bức thư" (one letter).

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.