vả

Level ≈B2 (approx.) verbnounpronoun Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [vaː˧˩]Huế [vaː˧˨]Saigon [vaː˨˩˦] browser voice

Syllables · tones

vảdippinghỏi

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

vả means to slap.

Meanings of vả in English

Verb

to slap

Noun

Ficus auriculata

Pronoun

Third personal distal pronoun.

Adverb

besides, moreover

Words with vả

nhờ vả vả lại vả chăng

Example sentences with vả

Tôi vả vào mặt Tom. I slapped Tom.
Này thằng mặt lồn, dám cả gan trộm xe của bố mày à. Bây giờ bố mày sẽ vả chết con mẹ mày đấy. You stole my bike, and now I'm going to break your face.

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, vả could be written as 抯, 𣛢, 𡲤. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *t-pah, from Proto-Austroasiatic *pɔh. Cognate with Khmer បុះ (boh, “to hit with stick”), Eastern Mnong pah (“to slap”) and Pacoh páh (“to slap”).

Frequently asked questions

What does vả mean in English?

vả (verb) means "to slap".

How do you pronounce vả?

IPA: Hanoi [vaː˧˩]; Saigon [vaː˨˩˦]. Tones: vả — dipping tone (hỏi).

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.