cháu gái
[t͡ɕaw˧˦ ɣaːj˧˦]word by word
The English word "niece" is translated into Vietnamese as cháu gái.
cháu gái is used to refer to the daughter of one's sibling. This term applies regardless of whether the sibling is older or younger than the speaker.
Meaning: fraternal or sororal niece (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of cháu, which can mean grandchild, niece or nephew and gái, which means female or girl.
Did you know?
- In Vietnamese culture, cháu is often used as a polite way to address any young person, even a complete stranger. This creates a pseudo-family bond between the speaker and a youth.
- While cháu gái describes the relationship, a Vietnamese person will rarely call their niece by this term to her face. Instead, they use cháu as a second-person pronoun, similar to 'you'.
- In Vietnamese, cháu gái is used not only for a sibling's daughter but also for the daughter of a cousin. The term covers a broader range of the extended family than the English 'niece'.
Examples in context
- Nói thiệt nha, nó là cháu gái của tôi đó.To tell the truth, she is my niece.This sentence is useful for identifying a person as a cháu gái.Tatoeba #1542043 by Aomori, translation #265181 by CK
- Cháu gái của tôi đang học lớp một.My niece is in first grade.
- Cô ấy là cháu gái duy nhất của tôi.She is my only niece.
Example conversation
Tuấn and Lan are looking at a family photo.
- TuấnCô nhìn xem, đây là cháu gái tôi.Look, this is my niece.
- LanBé dễ thương quá, tên con là gì?She is so cute, what is her name?
- TuấnCháu gái tôi tên là Minh Anh.My niece's name is Minh Anh.
- LanCái tên nghe hay quá!That name sounds very nice!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “niece” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (cháu, gái) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
