chào anh
[t͡ɕaːw˨˩ ʔajŋ̟˧˧]word by word
The Vietnamese phrase for hello to a man is chào anh.
chào anh is used to greet a man who is roughly the same age or slightly older than the speaker.
What does it mean word for word?
The word chào means to greet, and anh literally means older brother.
Which one should you use?
While chào anh is used for a man slightly older than you, chào em is used to greet someone who is younger than you.
How does it change in a sentence?
In more polite or formal settings, speakers often add their own pronoun, such as em, at the beginning to form em chào anh.
Did you know?
- The word chào originally comes from a term meaning to attend the emperor's audience or meet a senior person.
- In historical Vietnamese customs, a husband might call his wife em and a wife might call her husband anh.
- Historically, the way a couple addressed each other could signal their social class, with the wealthy using titles like cậu and mợ.
Examples in context
- Chào anh, anh khỏe không?Hello, how are you?
- Em chào anh ạ.Hello to you (respectful).
- Chào anh, rất vui được gặp anh.Hello, nice to meet you.
Example conversation
Chi sees her colleague Hung in the office hallway.
- ChiChào anh Hùng!Hello, Hung!
- HùngChào Chi, em đi làm sớm thế?Hello Chi, you're at work early?
- ChiVâng, em có nhiều việc ạ.Yes, I have a lot of work.
- HùngChúc em một ngày làm việc tốt!Have a good working day!
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.
