mận
[mən˧˨ʔ]
The English word plum is mận in Vietnamese. Wiktionary also lists quả mận and trái mận.
Meaning: fruit of Prunus domestica (noun)
Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| mận | [mən˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, narrow) [məŋ˨˩ʔ] (Huế, narrow) |
| quả mận | [kwaː˧˩ mən˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
| trái mận | [t͡ɕaːj˧˦ mən˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
The term refers to the fruit of the Prunus domestica.
Which one should you use?
While mận refers to the fruit itself, adding the classifiers quả or trái makes the phrase more natural when counting or specifying the fruit in a sentence.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The use of the classifier trái in trái mận is characteristic of Southern Vietnamese dialects.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word quả in quả mận is a classifier used before mận to indicate a single piece of fruit or to treat it as a countable noun. Similarly, trái in trái mận is a classifier used before mận to indicate a single piece of fruit.
Did you know?
- The word quả was used to replace an older native word for fruit because that original word sounded too similar to the Vietnamese word for 'testicles'.
- The word for plum, mận, is actually a loanword from a Tai language rather than being native to the Vietnamese language family.
Examples in context
- Tôi muốn ăn mận.I want to eat plums.
- Mận này rất chua.This plum is very sour.
- Mẹ mua mận ở chợ.Mom bought plums at the market.
Example conversation
A woman is offering a snack to a man.
- HươngAnh Tuấn ơi, ăn mận không?Tuấn, do you want to eat some plums?
- TuấnMận có ngọt không Hương?Are the plums sweet, Hương?
- HươngMận này hơi chua một chút.These plums are a little sour.
- TuấnVậy tôi không ăn đâu.Then I won't eat them.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “plum” translations and entries mận, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (quả, mận, trái) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mận, quả, trái, CC BY-SA 4.0.
