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yêu

Level ≈A1 (approx.) verbadverbadjective Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔiəw˧˧]Huế [ʔiw˧˧]Saigon [ʔiw˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
yêulevelngang

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

yêu means to love.

Meanings of yêu in English

Verb

  1. to love — to have a strong affection for (someone, something)
    • bạn yêu nhạc poppop music lover
    • người yêu nướcpatriot
    • Muốn trụ lâu trong nghề này thì phải yêu nghề.If you want to last long in this profession, you need to love it.
  2. to love (someone) romantically
    • Em thương anh lắm, nhưng không yêu thôi.I cherish you very much, yet I love you not.

Adverb

  1. lovingly, affectionately (jocularly, not violently or abusively)

Adjective

  1. beloved, darling, etc.
    • vợ yêudarling wife
    • con gái yêu của mẹmy darling daughter

Words with yêu

bùa yêuđáng yêukính yêumến yêungười yêuthân yêuthương yêutin yêutình yêuyêu chiềuyêu dấuyêu đờiyêu đươngyêu kiềuyêu mếnyêu nướcyêu thíchyêu thươngyêu cầuyêu quýyêu sáchyêu quáiyêu thuậtyêu tinh

Example sentences with yêu

  • Tôi yêu mẹ tôi và bố tôi. I love my mother and father.
  • Anh ấy hẳn là rất yêu bạn. He must love you.
  • Anh ấy đem lòng yêu cô ấy. He fell in love with her.
  • Quả thật bà ấy rất yêu mèo. She really likes cats a lot.
  • Anh ấy chưa bao giờ yêu tôi. He never loved me.
  • Tôi không còn yêu anh ấy nữa. I no longer love him.
  • Tôi cứ tưởng là Mary yêu tôi. I thought Mary loved me.
  • Thực ra, tôi không yêu cô ấy. Actually, I don't love her.

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, yêu could be written as 腰, 𢞅, 𬁷, 夭. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

There are cognates in Tho lects, e.g. Cuối Tân Hợp Ɂiew³⁵ (Nguyễn Hữu Hoành et al., 2022), with the meaning of "beautiful, pretty".

Frequently asked questions

What does yêu mean in English?

yêu (verb) means "to love".

How do you pronounce yêu?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔiəw˧˧]; Saigon [ʔiw˧˧]. Tones: yêu — level tone (ngang).

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.