nàng tiên cá
[naːŋ˨˩ tiən˧˧ kaː˧˦]
In Vietnamese, the English word mermaid is translated as nàng tiên cá. If unsure, use nàng tiên cá. Wiktionary also lists nhân ngư and người cá.
Meaning: mythological woman with a fish’s tail (noun)
Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| nàng tiên cá | [naːŋ˨˩ tiən˧˧ kaː˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [naːŋ˦˩ tiəŋ˧˧ kaː˨˩˦] (Huế, narrow) |
| nhân ngư | [ɲən˧˧ ŋɨ˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ɲəŋ˧˧ ŋɨ˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
| người cá | [ŋɨəj˨˩ kaː˧˦] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
| tiên cá |
The term refers to a mythological woman with a fish's tail.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase nàng tiên cá is composed of nàng (lady or maiden), tiên (fairy or celestial being) and cá (fish).
Which one should you use?
Nàng tiên cá is the standard way to refer to a mermaid in a poetic or fairytale context, such as in the story of 'The Little Mermaid'. Người cá is a more neutral and descriptive term for a mermaid or merman, frequently used in general or biological contexts. Tiên cá is a shortened version of nàng tiên cá.
How does it change in a sentence?
Tiên cá serves as a shortened form of nàng tiên cá and is often used in casual conversation or in titles.
Did you know?
- In modern social media commerce, the letter 'c' in words like cá is sometimes used as a code to bypass platform algorithms.
- The term nhân ngư uses a Sino-Vietnamese construction where nhân means 'person' and ngư means 'fish', similar to the way English uses Greek or Latin roots to create formal terms.
Examples in context
- 30/12/2012, Huyền Thanh, Theo dấu Nàng tiên cá – đại sứ du lịch của Đan Mạch, Dân ViệtNext to those giant things, the mermaid sat atop a tottering granite rock, small, quiet, and whose sad face half-looked towards the shore, half-looked towards the sea.This sentence describes the setting and appearance of a mermaid using the form nàng tiên cá.
- Bạn đã xem bộ phim với nhân vật cá tiên chưa?Have you watched the movie with the mermaid character yet?
- Cô ấy đang vẽ một nàng tiên cá.She is drawing a mermaid.
- Truyện này kể về một nàng tiên cá xinh đẹp.This story tells about a beautiful mermaid.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a fairy tale book.
- HùngMai, em có thích nàng tiên cá không?Mai, do you like the mermaid?
- MaiDạ có, em rất thích nàng tiên cá đó.Yes, I really like that mermaid.
- HùngAnh cũng thấy câu chuyện đó rất hay.I also find that story very good.
- MaiNàng tiên cá trong truyện thật đáng yêu.The mermaid in the story is so lovely.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mermaid” translations and entries nàng tiên cá, nhân ngư, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (người, cá) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cá, người, nhân, nhân ngư, tiên, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
