nhà thờ
[ɲaː˨˩ tʰəː˨˩]
The Vietnamese word for church is nhà thờ.
nhà thờ is used to refer to a church. In Vietnam, this term specifically refers to Christian or Catholic churches, rather than being used as a general term for any religious building.
Meaning: house of worship (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of nhà, meaning house or building and thờ, meaning to worship or to venerate.
Did you know?
- In Vietnam, most residents maintain a bàn thờ or 'worship table' inside their homes to honor ancestors, regardless of whether they attend a nhà thờ.
- The term nhà thờ is often used in the phrase nhà thờ họ, which refers to a clan ancestral house rather than a Christian church.
- The word nhà in nhà thờ carries a double meaning as both a physical 'house' and a prefix used to denote a person of a certain profession, such as in nhà khoa học for 'scientist'.
Examples in context
- Bây giờ tôi sẽ đi nhà thờ.I am going to church now.This sentence is useful for expressing your current intention to go to nhà thờ.Tatoeba #9734564 by dotheduyet1999, translation #4655740 by mervert1
- Tom lái xe máy đến nhà thờ.Tom rode his motorcycle to church.This sentence is useful for describing a mode of transport used to reach nhà thờ.Tatoeba #13897625 by leucammieuvu, translation #10099992 by CK
- Mỗi ngày tôi đều đến nhà thờ.I go to church every day.This sentence is useful for describing a daily habit of visiting nhà thờ.Tatoeba #9629987 by dotheduyet1999, translation #507914 by CK
- Chúng ta hãy đi đến nhà thờ để cầu nguyện.Let's go to the church to pray.
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Tuấn and Lan are walking in the city center.
- TuấnBạn thấy nhà thờ kia không?Do you see that church over there?
- LanCó, nó trông rất cổ kính.Yes, it looks very ancient.
- TuấnChúng ta vào xem nhé?Shall we go in and look?
- LanĐược, đi thôi Tuấn.Sure, let's go, Tuấn.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “church” translations and entries nhà thờ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
