kết hôn
[ket̚˧˦ hon˧˧]
The English word 'marriage' is translated into Vietnamese as kết hôn.
kết hôn is used to refer to the union of two people, specifically the legal or social state of being married.
Meaning: union of two people (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term kết hôn is composed of kết, which means to tie or bind and hôn, which means marriage or wedding.
Which one should you use?
While kết hôn refers to the state of marriage, the term đám cưới is used specifically to refer to the wedding ceremony or celebration.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In formal contexts, you may use hôn nhân to express the concept of marriage. In casual conversation, speakers often use the informal phrases lấy vợ (to get a wife) or lấy chồng (to get a husband) instead of kết hôn.
How does it change in a sentence?
To turn the verb kết hôn into a formal noun meaning 'the act of marriage' or 'the state of being married', you can add the noun-forming prefix sự to create sự kết hôn.
Did you know?
- In traditional Vietnamese weddings, the groom's family often brings 'betel and areca nuts' as a symbolic gesture to initiate the marriage proposal.
- The word hôn in kết hôn shares a deep linguistic root with words for 'to smell' or 'to kiss' in other Austroasiatic languages.
- The word kết in kết hôn literally means 'to tie' or 'to bind', reflecting an ancient view of marriage as a knot.
Examples in context
- Giáo dục trước, kết hôn sau.First education, then marriage.This sentence is useful for discussing the priority of education before marriage using kết hôn.Tatoeba #13647676 by leucammieuvu, translation #13647049 by frpzzd
- Tuổi kết hôn hợp pháp ở Úc là 18.The legal age for marriage in Australia is 18.This sentence is useful for discussing the legal age of marriage using kết hôn.Tatoeba #3610977 by trieuho, translation #3610727 by CK
- Việc kết hôn đã hủy hoại cuộc sống của anh ấy hoàn toàn.The marriage completely ruined his life.This sentence is useful for describing how the act of marriage affected someone's life using kết hôn.Tatoeba #10257742 by hothuyhien, translation #10255535 by maaster
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing their future plans.
- LanMinh, cậu có muốn kết hôn không?Minh, do you want to get married?
- MinhCó, nhưng mình muốn ổn định trước khi kết hôn.Yes, but I want to be stable before marriage.
- LanVậy cậu định khi nào sẽ kết hôn?So when do you plan to marry?
- MinhCó lẽ là năm sau, Lan ạ.Maybe next year, Lan.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry kết hôn, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hôn, kết, kết hôn, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
