Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| đêm | [ʔɗem˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɗem˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
| tối | [toj˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [toj˨˩˦] (Huế, narrow) |
| ban đêm | [ʔɓaːn˧˧ ʔɗem˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɓaːŋ˧˧ ʔɗem˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
| khuya | [xwiə˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [kʰwiə˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
The words used for "night" describe different stages or aspects of the period between sunset and sunrise. ban đêm is used to refer to the nighttime period as a general concept, such as in scientific or news contexts. You can also use the phrase chúc ngủ ngon or tạm biệt as short ways to say "good night".
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on the specific time of day you are describing. đêm refers to the middle of the night, whereas tối is used for the evening or the period when it gets dark. If you want to refer specifically to the late hours of the night, such as the time around midnight, use khuya.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
You can modify đêm to specify which night you are talking about. To say "last night", add qua (meaning past) to get đêm qua. To say "tonight", add nay (meaning this/now) to get đêm nay.
Did you know?
- The word khuya for late night is believed by some linguists to be a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character 虧.
- In Vietnamese culture, the transition from tối to đêm depends more on the perceived darkness and activity level than a strict hour on the clock.
- While đêm refers to the night, the word tối is frequently used as an adjective to mean 'dark' in any context, not just time.
Examples in context
- Tôi nhớ đêm đó.I remembered that night.This example shows how to use đêm to refer to a specific night.Tatoeba #13726478 by leucammieuvu, translation #13726439 by qwertzu
- Trời mưa cả đêm.It rained all night.This example demonstrates using đêm to describe a duration of time.Tatoeba #13376167 by leucammieuvu, translation #6440479 by CK
- Sami đang trực đêm.Sami is on night duty.This example shows đêm being used in the context of a night duty.Tatoeba #10703670 by quoctrong018, translation #6392024 by OsoHombre
- Chúng ta sẽ gặp nhau vào buổi tối.We will meet in the evening.
- Chúc bạn có một buổi tối vui vẻ.Wishing you a pleasant evening.
- 91 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their sleep schedule over the phone.
- LanAnh ngủ cả đêm không?Did you sleep all night?
- MinhKhông, anh thức cả đêm qua.No, I stayed up all night.
- LanTại sao đêm qua anh không ngủ?Why didn't you sleep last night?
- MinhVì anh phải làm việc.Because I had to work.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “night” translations and entries đêm, tối, ban đêm, khuya, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ban, ban đêm, khuya, tối, đêm, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
