chào anh
[t͡ɕaːw˨˩ ʔajŋ̟˧˧]word by word
chào anh is the Vietnamese way to say hello brother.
This phrase is a friendly greeting used when speaking to a man who is slightly older than the speaker. While it is used for biological brothers, it is also commonly used for any male slightly older than you, such as a colleague or a stranger.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of chào, which means to greet and anh, which means older brother.
Which one should you use?
chào anh is used when speaking to an older male, whereas chào em is used when speaking to someone who is younger than you.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are the older brother and someone greets you with chào anh, you would typically respond with chào em to acknowledge them as a younger sibling.
Did you know?
- While chào anh is used for brothers, a wife in the Quảng Nam province traditionally calls her husband anh as a sign of affection and respect.
- While chào anh is used for males, the social hierarchy of address in Vietnam is so complex that different classes historically used different titles, such as cậu and mợ for wealthy families.
Examples in context
- Xin chào anh ơi, tôi xin giới thiệu, đây là bạn của tôi.Hello, sir/brother, let me introduce my friend.
- Anh ơi, đi chơi không?Hey, brother, want to hang out?
- Chào anh, có tin tức gì mới không?Hello, brother, any news?
- Chào anh, lâu rồi không gặp!Hello brother, long time no see!
- Em chào anh ạ.Hello brother (polite/respectful).
- Chào anh, anh đi đâu đấy?Hello brother, where are you going?
Example conversation
Hương meets Hùng at a coffee shop.
- HươngChào anh, Hùng!Hello brother, Hùng!
- HùngChào Hương, em khỏe không?Hello Hương, how are you?
- HươngEm khỏe, cảm ơn anh.I am well, thank you brother.
- HùngVậy thì tốt quá.That is very good then.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (chào, anh) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries anh, chào, CC BY-SA 4.0.
