văn ngôn

noun Sino-Vietnamese

Hanoi [van˧˧ ŋon˧˧]Huế [vaŋ˧˧ ŋoŋ˧˧]Saigon [vaŋ˧˧ ŋoŋ˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

vănlevelngang ngônlevelngang

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

văn ngôn means Classical Chinese.

Chinese characters: 文言

Meanings of văn ngôn in English

Noun

Literary Chinese (literary language used from the fall of the Han dynasty (220 C.E.) to the early 20th century)
Classical Chinese (literary language used in old China) ≈ cổ văn Hán văn

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 文言.

Frequently asked questions

What does văn ngôn mean in English?

văn ngôn (noun) means "Classical Chinese".

How do you pronounce văn ngôn?

IPA: Hanoi [van˧˧ ŋon˧˧]; Saigon [vaŋ˧˧ ŋoŋ˧˧]. Tones: văn — level tone (ngang), ngôn — level tone (ngang).

Is văn ngôn a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. văn ngôn is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 文言.

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited. 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.