voi
[vɔj˧˧]
The Vietnamese word for elephant is voi.
voi is a noun used to refer to the mammal.
Meaning: mammal (noun)
When do people say it?
The phrase Thầy bói xem voi refers to a famous Vietnamese fable about people who only see a small part of a truth and assume they understand the whole thing.
Did you know?
- In Vietnamese, the word vòi can refer to both an elephant's trunk and a water tap or nozzle.
- In Vietnamese culture, the elephant is often associated with strength and loyalty, frequently appearing in historical accounts of military use in the highlands.
- The word voi shares a linguistic root with the word vòi, which means 'trunk'.
Examples in context
- Voi là một loài động vật to khổng lồ.An elephant is an enormous animal.This sentence uses voi to describe the size of the animal.Tatoeba #9774716 by dotheduyet1999, translation #268255 by CK
- Thầy bói xem voiFortune-Tellers Examining an ElephantThis sentence uses voi within a traditional fable title.
- ngà voiElephant tusksThis sentence shows how voi is used in the phrase for elephant tusks.
- Khi tôi thăm sở thú, tôi đã nhìn thấy một chú voi rất to.When I visited the zoo, I saw a very big elephant.
Example conversation
Hùng and Lan are at the zoo looking at the animals.
- HùngLan ơi, nhìn con voi kìa!Lan, look at that elephant!
- LanNó to quá anh Hùng ạ.It is so big, Hung.
- HùngCon voi đó đang uống nước.That elephant is drinking water.
- LanThật là một con voi đẹp.It is truly a beautiful elephant.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “elephant” translations and entries voi, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries voi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
