Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| kết hôn | [ket̚˧˦ hon˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ket̚˦˧˥ hoŋ˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
|
| thành lập gia đình | ||
| cưới | [kɨəj˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [kɨj˨˩˦] (Huế, narrow) |
|
| có vợ | [kɔ˧˦ vəː˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) | masculine |
| đã lấy vợ | [ʔɗaː˦ˀ˥ ləj˧˦ vəː˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) | masculine |
| có chồng | [kɔ˧˦ t͡ɕəwŋ͡m˨˩] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) | feminine |
The terms used to describe being married in Vietnamese vary depending on whether you are referring to the legal state of marriage, the act of a wedding or the specific gender of the person who has a spouse.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase có vợ literally means 'to have a wife', while có chồng literally means 'to have a husband'.
Which one should you use?
The standard and formal term for the state of being married or the act of marriage is kết hôn. For a more colloquial approach, especially when referring to the wedding ceremony or the act of getting married, use cưới. If you want to say someone has 'settled down' or 'started a family' in a formal or euphemistic way, use thành lập gia đình. For men, you may use the masculine forms có vợ (to have a wife) or the more casual đã lấy vợ. For women, use có chồng (to have a husband).
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate that the state of being married has already been achieved, you can add the particle đã before kết hôn to form đã kết hôn.
Did you know?
- The word hôn in kết hôn shares a distant linguistic ancestor with words meaning 'to smell' or 'to sniff' in several related Mon-Khmer languages.
- The word kết in kết hôn is a Sino-Vietnamese character that carries the meaning of 'to tie' or 'to bind', suggesting the tying together of two people.
- In casual conversation, Vietnamese speakers often use the verb lấy (to take) when saying lấy vợ or lấy chồng to mean 'getting married'.
Examples in context
- Tom chưa kết hôn.Tom isn't married yet.This sentence shows how to use kết hôn to express that someone is not yet married.Tatoeba #9011167 by dotheduyet1999, translation #3736402 by CK
- Chị tôi đã kết hôn.My sister got married.This sentence demonstrates using kết hôn to state that someone has already married.Tatoeba #13896387 by leucammieuvu, translation #13890967 by frpzzd
- Masaru cưới hôm nay.Masaru gets married today.This sentence shows how to use cưới to describe the act of getting married today.Tatoeba #13472304 by leucammieuvu, translation #32824 by CN
- Tôi đã kết hôn được một năm rồi.I have been married for a year.
- Anh ấy đã kết hôn với cô ấy vào năm ngoái.He got married to her last year.
- Cô ấy là vợ của anh ấy.She is his wife.
- Tôi đã cưới được hai năm rồi.I have been married for two years.
- Anh ấy đã cưới một người phụ nữ Việt Nam.He married a Vietnamese woman.
- 38 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Minh and Mai are talking about their mutual friend.
- MinhAnh Nam đã kết hôn chưa?Is Nam married yet?
- MaiAnh ấy kết hôn năm ngoái rồi.He got married last year.
- MinhVợ anh ấy làm nghề gì?What does his wife do?
- MaiCô ấy là một bác sĩ.She is a doctor.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “married” translations and entries kết hôn, cưới, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (có, vợ, đã, lấy, chồng) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hôn, kết, kết hôn, lập, thành, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
