thằn lằn

Level ≈B2 (approx.) noun Top 3,000 most common

Hanoi [tʰan˨˩ lan˨˩]Huế [tʰaŋ˦˩ laŋ˦˩]Saigon [tʰaŋ˨˩ laŋ˨˩] browser voice

Syllables · tones

thằnfallinghuyền lằnfallinghuyền

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

thằn lằn means a lizard; common house gecko.

Classifier: con — e.g. một con thằn lằn (one lizard)

Meanings of thằn lằn in English

Noun

a lizard
Southern Vietnam common house gecko ≈ thạch sùng chanh chách
certain kinds of prehistoric reptile
- thằn lằn cánha pterosaur
- thằn lằn cáan ichthyosaur

Words with thằn lằn

thằn lằn bóng

Example sentences with thằn lằn

Thằn lằn! Lizard!
Dượng yêu lũ thằn lằn khi nó hóa thành giày và thắt lưng. Uncle loves the lizards when they turn into shoes and belts.

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, thằn lằn could be written as 𧊺𧋻, 蠅䗲. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Trần Trọng Dương (2013) considers this word a doublet of trăn. See there for etymology.

Frequently asked questions

What does thằn lằn mean in English?

thằn lằn (noun) means "a lizard; common house gecko".

How do you pronounce thằn lằn?

IPA: Hanoi [tʰan˨˩ lan˨˩]; Saigon [tʰaŋ˨˩ laŋ˨˩]. Tones: thằn — falling tone (huyền), lằn — falling tone (huyền).

What classifier is used with thằn lằn?

Common classifiers: con — for example "một con thằn lằn" (one a lizard).

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.