hải cẩu
[haːj˧˩ kəw˧˩]
The English word "seal" (referring to the pinniped animal) is translated into Vietnamese as hải cẩu.
Meaning: pinniped (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term hải cẩu is a compound word consisting of hải, meaning "sea" and cẩu, meaning "dog".
Did you know?
- The word cẩu appears in the Vietnamese idiom cẩu thả, which means 'careless' or 'sloppy', literally evoking the image of a dog's haphazard nature.
- The word cẩu for 'dog' is used in hải cẩu but is often avoided in daily conversation because it can be a harsh or insulting way to refer to a dog.
- The word cẩu is a Sino-Vietnamese reading, which means it shares the same Han character 狗 with many other East Asian languages.
Examples in context
- Hôm nay tôi đã đến vườn thú và thấy một con hải cẩu rất đáng yêu!Today I went to the zoo and saw a very cute seal!
- Con hải cẩu đang bơi.The seal is swimming.
- Tôi thấy một con hải cẩu.I saw a seal.
- Hải cẩu là loài động vật biển.Seals are marine animals.
Example conversation
Chi and Nam are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- ChiNhìn kìa, một con hải cẩu!Look, a seal!
- NamNó trông thật đáng yêu.It looks so cute.
- ChiNam, cậu có muốn xem thêm không?Nam, do you want to watch more?
- NamCó, tớ rất thích xem chúng.Yes, I really like watching them.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “seal” translations and entries hải cẩu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cẩu, hải cẩu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
