bão
[ʔɓaːw˦ˀ˥]
The Vietnamese word for hurricane is bão. If unsure, use bão. Wiktionary also lists bão táp.
Meaning: weather phenomenon (noun)
Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| bão | [ʔɓaːw˦ˀ˥] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɓaːw˧˨] (Huế, narrow) |
| bão táp | [ʔɓaːw˦ˀ˥ taːp̚˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɓaːw˧˨ taːp̚˦˧˥] (Huế, narrow) |
bão is used to refer to the physical weather phenomenon of a hurricane.
Which one should you use?
While bão refers to the physical weather phenomenon, the form bão táp is often used metaphorically to describe life's hardships or turbulent situations, acting as a stormy or turbulent adjective/noun.
How does it change in a sentence?
To count hurricanes, use the classifier cơn before bão to say cơn bão (a hurricane or the hurricane). You can also use the classifier trận with bão to form trận bão, which emphasizes the event or the occurrence of the storm.
Did you know?
- Although it looks like a formal compound, bão táp is actually a 'hypercorrection', a linguistic error where speakers mistakenly changed the original bão tát to sound more sophisticated.
- The term bão táp appeared in early bilingual dictionaries like the 1838 'Dictionarium latino-anamiticum' written during the colonial era.
Examples in context
- Trận bão đã quét sạch cả ngôi làng.The hurricane wiped out the whole village.Tatoeba #11414418 by chaule3, translation #11414415 by chaule3
- Cơn bão đã thổi bay các ngôi nhà với những cơn gió mạnh.The hurricane blew away houses with strong winds.Tatoeba #11414337 by chaule3, translation #11414333 by chaule3
- Thông báo bão đang tiến vào vùng biển miền Trung Việt Nam.There is an announcement that a hurricane is approaching the coastal region of Central Vietnam.
- Cơn bão xoáy khiến nhiều cây cối đổ trong làng.The hurricane caused many trees to fall in the village.
- Cơn bão đang đến rất gần.The hurricane is coming very close.
Example conversation
Lan and Tuan are watching the news on TV.
- LanTuấn ơi, nhìn kìa, có một cơn bão lớn!Tuan, look, there is a big hurricane!
- TuấnNó sẽ đổ bộ vào đất liền khi nào?When will it make landfall?
- LanNghe nói là vào ngày mai đó.I heard it will be tomorrow.
- TuấnChúng ta cần chuẩn bị đồ ăn dự trữ ngay.We need to prepare food reserves right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hurricane” translations and entries bão, bão táp, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bão, bão táp, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
