bữa tối
[ʔɓɨə˦ˀ˥ toj˧˦]word by word
bữa tối is the Vietnamese word for dinner.
bữa tối refers to the evening meal. You can change the time-of-day noun to refer to other meals, such as bữa sáng for breakfast or bữa trưa for lunch.
Meaning: evening meal (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase bữa tối is composed of bữa, which is a classifier for meals and tối, meaning evening.
Which one should you use?
While bữa tối is the standard term, you may encounter cơm tối in casual conversation, which literally translates to 'evening rice'. For a more formal context, you can use the phrase Bữa ăn tối, which translates to 'evening meal'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Northern Vietnam, bữa tối is commonly interchanged with bữa cơm tối.
Did you know?
- In many Vietnamese homes, asking if someone has 'eaten rice' is used as a general social greeting rather than a literal question about bữa tối.
- The classifier bữa used in bữa tối is an ancient relative of the word bæːh in the Arem language, which means 'day'. This suggests that, historically, the concept of a 'meal' was defined by its place within the division of the day.
- The word tối in bữa tối shares an ancient root with the word for 'darkness', linking the meal to the physical fading of light.
Examples in context
- Tom nấu bữa tối.Tom made dinner.This sentence is useful for describing someone making bữa tối.Tatoeba #13341064 by leucammieuvu, translation #3825347 by CK
- Bữa tối được chưa?Is dinner ready?This sentence is useful for asking if bữa tối is ready.Tatoeba #13249704 by leucammieuvu, translation #456011 by lukaszpp
- Vợ tôi đang nấu bữa tối.My wife is preparing dinner right now.This sentence is useful for describing someone preparing bữa tối.Tatoeba #8951853 by dotheduyet1999, translation #24033 by CK
- Trường hợp công việc kéo dài, chúng ta có thể ăn tối ở nhà hàng.In case the work stretches, we can have dinner at a restaurant.
- Tôi đề nghị đặt buổi họp với đối tác vào bữa ăn tối.I propose scheduling a meeting with our partner during dinner.
- Chiều nay, bạn muốn ăn tối ở nhà hay ngoài quán?This evening, do you want to have dinner at home or outside?
- Anh đi làm về, chúng ta ăn tối cùng nhau nhé.When you come back from work, let's have dinner together.
- 21 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to eat at home.
- LanBữa tối nay ăn gì?What are we having for dinner tonight?
- NamAnh muốn ăn cơm ở nhà.I want to eat rice at home.
- LanVậy em sẽ chuẩn bị bữa tối.Then I will prepare dinner.
- NamCảm ơn em nhé.Thank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dinner” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (bữa, tối) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bữa, tối, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
