khủng long
[xʊwŋ͡m˧˩ lawŋ͡m˧˧]
The Vietnamese word for dinosaur is khủng long.
khủng long refers to the prehistoric reptiles.
Meaning: prehistoric reptile (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is a compound of khủng (huge/gigantic) and long (dragon).
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to a specific dinosaur as an animal, the classifier con is typically used before the noun, as in con khủng long. To refer to dinosaurs as a biological group or species, use loài (species) instead of the animal classifier, forming loài khủng long.
Did you know?
- The Vietnamese word khủng long literally translates to 'terrible dragon' rather than 'terrible lizard'.
- In Vietnamese, the word khủng can be used as a slang adjective to describe something as 'massive' or 'insane' in scale, separate from its use in 'dinosaur'.
- The word khủng long is a Sino-Vietnamese loanword that likely arrived via Chinese or Japanese translations of the Western word 'dinosaur'.
Examples in context
- Con khủng long này có một cái cổ dài.This dinosaur had a long neck.This sentence is useful for describing a physical trait of the khủng long.Tatoeba #10276479 by Alex_do, translation #8300798 by Hybrid
- Khủng long!Dinosaur!This sentence shows how to use khủng long as an exclamation.Tatoeba #14029181 by nhuttan2004, translation #12761450 by ataraxy
- Tôi muốn tìm hiểu về khủng long.I want to learn about dinosaurs.
- Trẻ em thường rất quan tâm đến khủng long.Children are often fascinated by dinosaurs.
- Nhà khoa học đã tìm thấy hóa thạch khủng long ở đây.Scientists discovered a dinosaur fossil here.
- Tôi thích xem phim về khủng long.I like watching movies about dinosaurs.
Example conversation
Lan and Tuấn are talking at a museum.
- LanAnh có thấy con khủng long này không?Do you see this dinosaur?
- TuấnNó trông thật khổng lồ, Lan ạ.It looks truly giant, Lan.
- LanNó là một con khủng long bạo chúa.It is a Tyrannosaurus rex.
- TuấnThật là đáng sợ quá đi.That is so scary.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dinosaur” translations and entries khủng long, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries khủng, khủng long, long, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
