cừu
[kiw˨˩]
The Vietnamese word for sheep is cừu.
cừu refers to the animal known as a sheep. It is also used to refer to a lamb.
Meaning: animal (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to a single sheep, the classifier con is typically used before cừu to form con cừu. To indicate multiple sheep, you can add the plural marker những before con cừu to form những con cừu.
Did you know?
- The word cừu is actually a Sino-Vietnamese loanword that originally meant a 'fur coat'.
- Because sheep are not native to most of Vietnam, the word cừu is frequently encountered in religious or literary contexts rather than daily farm life.
- While cừu is the standard term, the archaic word chiên is still seen in specific traditional or biblical Vietnamese texts.
Examples in context
- Con cừu đã bị hiến tế.The sheep was sacrificed.This sentence shows how to describe a sheep that was sacrificed using cừu.Tatoeba #13855668 by leucammieuvu, translation #13855435 by tieguy
- Tôi sẽ xây nhà, nuôi vài con bò, ngựa và cừu.I'll build a house, raise some cows, horses and sheep.This sentence lists different animals one might raise, including cừu.Tatoeba #11276041 by chaule3, translation #11276040 by chaule3
- Một người có 11 còn cừu nhưng chết mất 9 con, hỏi người đó còn lại bao nhiêu con?If a man had 11 sheep and all but 9 died, how many sheep would he have left?This sentence is a riddle involving the number of cừu a person has left.Tatoeba #13249726 by leucammieuvu, translation #867817 by CK
- Tôi đã thấy con dê ở công viên hôm qua.I saw a sheep at the park yesterday.
- Người ta nói dê rất dễ thương.They say sheep are very cute.
Example conversation
Lan and Nam are looking at a picture book in a park.
- LanCon cừu này trông thật dễ thương.This sheep looks so cute.
- NamĐúng vậy, nó có bộ lông trắng rất dày.Yes, it has very thick white wool.
- LanNam có muốn nuôi một con cừu không?Nam, do you want to raise a sheep?
- NamChắc là không đâu, vì nó cần nhiều cỏ lắm.Probably not, because it needs a lot of grass.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sheep” translations and entries cừu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cừu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
