ba chỉ
[ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕi˧˩]
Pork belly in Vietnamese is ba chỉ. Wiktionary also lists ba rọi.
Meaning: boneless cut of fatty meat (noun)
Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| ba chỉ | [ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕi˧˩] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕɪj˧˨] (Huế, narrow) |
| ba rọi | [ʔɓaː˧˧ zɔj˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʐɔj˨˩ʔ] (Huế, narrow) |
The term refers to a boneless cut of fatty meat. A popular pork belly dish is Thịt Ba Rọi Kho, which is caramelized pork belly.
What does it mean word for word?
The term ba chỉ literally translates to three stripes, referring to the visible layers of fat and meat in a slice of pork belly. The term ba rọi literally refers to three layers of fat/grease, describing the characteristic appearance of the cut.
Did you know?
- While ba chỉ describes the 'three stripes' of the meat, the word chỉ shares a linguistic root with the word for 'thread' or 'string'.
- Pork belly is the essential fat source for making traditional Vietnamese tóp mỡ, which are crispy pork rinds used as a garnish.
- In the Southern region of Vietnam, ba rọi is the more common term for pork belly, whereas ba chỉ is more frequent in the North.
Examples in context
- Bạn đã từng ăn ba rọi chưa?Have you ever eaten pork belly?
- Tôi muốn mua ba chỉ lợn.I want to buy pork belly.
- Món này làm từ ba chỉ.This dish is made from pork belly.
- Ba chỉ ở đây rất tươi.The pork belly here is very fresh.
Example conversation
Hương and Tuấn are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- HươngTuấn ơi, tối nay mình ăn gì?Tuấn, what should we eat tonight?
- TuấnAnh muốn ăn thịt ba chỉ quay.I want to eat roasted pork belly.
- HươngĐể em đi mua ba chỉ nhé.Let me go buy the pork belly.
- TuấnCảm ơn em, Hương.Thank you, Hương.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pork belly” translations and entries ba chỉ, ba rọi, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ba, ba chỉ, chỉ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
