khói
[xɔj˧˦]
The English word smoke is khói in Vietnamese.
khói is a noun referring to the visible particles and vapour given off by burning material. If you want to talk about a cigarette, the term is thuốc lá. Related verbs include hút thuốc, which means to inhale and exhale smoke from a burning cigarette or to inhale and exhale tobacco smoke regularly or habitually.
Meaning: visible particles and vapour given off by burning material (noun)
Related words
Did you know?
- While khói refers to smoke, the word for cigarette thuốc lá literally translates to 'leaf medicine'.
- In Vietnamese, the word khói is used in the phrase khói lửa, which literally means 'smoke and fire' but is a common idiom for war and conflict.
- Vietnamese has a specific term khói lam chiều to describe the blue-grey smoke from cooking fires in the countryside at dusk, often evoking nostalgia for home.
Examples in context
- Có rất nhiều khói.There's a lot of smoke.Tatoeba #9016083 by dotheduyet1999, translation #9016079 by CK
- Khói khi đó đang bốc lên từ ống khói.Smoke was rising from the chimney.Tatoeba #13840947 by leucammieuvu, translation #25879 by CK
- Tình yêu, khói và cơn ho là những thứ khó giấu.Love, smoke and cough are hard to hide.Tatoeba #9002449 by dotheduyet1999, translation #5650623 by Hybrid
- Anh ấy thường hút thuốc sau bữa ăn.He usually smokes after meals.
- Hôm qua mình đi hút shisha ở quán gần đó.Yesterday, we went to smoke shisha at the nearby café.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lan and Tuấn are in the kitchen when something starts to burn.
- LanTuấn ơi, nhìn kìa, có khói trong bếp!Tuấn, look, there is smoke in the kitchen!
- TuấnÔi không, tôi quên tắt bếp rồi.Oh no, I forgot to turn off the stove.
- LanMở cửa sổ ra cho hết khói đi.Open the window to let the smoke out.
- TuấnĐược rồi, tôi sẽ làm ngay.Okay, I will do it right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “smoke” translations and entries khói, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
