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vô

Level ≈B1 (approx.) verbparticlepreposition Sino-Vietnamese Top 3,000 most common
Hanoi [vo˧˧]Huế [vow˧˧]Saigon [vow˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
vôlevelngang

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

vô means to enter; to go into.

Chinese characters: 無

Meanings of vô in English

Verb

  1. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam to enter; to go into ≈ vào
    • Vô nhà lấy con dao cho ba mày làm cá coi cu Thắng.Thắng boy, go inside and fetch the knife so that your dad can start preparing some fish.
  2. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam to toast
  3. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam to go southwards in Vietnam

Particle

  1. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam emphasizing sentence-ending particle ≈ vào
    • Uống cho lắm vô! Giờ đau đầu!You drank yourself to death and now you're wondering why you're having a headache!
    • Mại vô!Check it out, guys!

Preposition

  1. in, into, upon
    • Nhìn vô nhà coi, có ai hông?Did you see anyone when you looked into the house?

Interjection

  1. cheers! (common toast used when drinking)
    • Một, hai, ba, dzô!One, two, three, cheers!

Prefix

  1. prefixing nouns to form adjectives without, -less, un-, in- ≈ không
    • vô văn hoáill-mannered
    • vô tác dụngineffective

Words with vô

bình an vô sựhữu danh vô thựchữu dũng vô mưuvô biênvô bổvô bờvô cảmvô canvô căn cứvô chính phủvô chủvô công rồi nghềvô cơvô cớvô cùngvô cùng tậnvô cựcvô dạngvô danhvô danh tiểu tốtvô dụngvô duyênvô đạovô đềvô địchvô điều kiệnvô địnhvô tộivô tìnhvô nghĩa

Idioms and sayings with vô

Synonyms and antonyms of vô

Antonyms

ra

Example sentences with vô

  • Đây là đồng hồ chống vô nước. This is a waterproof watch.
  • Cái xe đã đụng vô tường. The car crashed into the wall.
  • Phúc bất trùng lai, họa vô đơn chí. When it rains, it pours.
  • Cẩn tắc vô áy náy. Better safe than sorry.
  • Sắp vô tiết rồi. Classes are starting again soon.
  • Nhân vô thập toàn. Even the worthy Homer sometimes nods.

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, vô could be written as 無, 𱍺, 𠓺. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Usage note: vô

vô is the Southern everyday form of vào — "enter, go in, into".

  • Mời anh vô! — Please come in!
  • Bỏ vô túi. — Put it in the bag.
  • Vô đây ngồi nè. — Come in here and sit.

Drinking toast: Một, hai, ba, dô! — from vô pronounced dô in Southern speech: "in it goes!"

Sino-Vietnamese vô means "without, non-, un-": vô lý — unreasonable; vô ích — useless; vô cùng — extremely; vô địch — champion (literally "without rival"); vô tình — accidentally, or heartless.

So vô in vô địch has nothing to do with going in.

Regional pair: vô (South) / vào (North and standard). Both are understood everywhere.

Etymology

Undiphthongized equivalent of Northern vào.

Frequently asked questions

What does vô mean in English?

vô (verb) means "to enter; to go into".

How do you pronounce vô?

IPA: Hanoi [vo˧˧]; Saigon [vow˧˧]. Tones: vô — level tone (ngang).

Is vô a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. vô is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 無.

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.