越南语
yuènányǔ
越南语 (yuènányǔ) is the Chinese term for the Vietnamese language.
越南语 is used specifically to refer to the Vietnamese language.
Meaning: language (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 越南, meaning Vietnam and 语, meaning language.
Which one should you use?
Use 越南语 to refer to the language itself. In contrast, 越南的 is used as an adjective to describe things or people from Vietnam and 越南人 is the noun used to refer to Vietnamese people.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
yuènányǔ
Did you know?
- The first part of the phrase, 越南, is a phonetic transcription of the name 'Vietnam' using characters that literally mean 'over the mountains'.
- The character 越 in 越南语 historically refers to the 'Baiyue' people, a diverse group of non-Han tribes who lived in southern China and northern Vietnam.
- In Chinese, if you use the character 语 to describe a language, you are implicitly identifying it as a spoken tongue, whereas 文 is often used for the written script or literature.
Examples in context
- 我的越南语不是在越南学的。It wasn't in Vietnam that I learnt Vietnamese.This sentence is useful for clarifying where you learned 越南语.Tatoeba #2737446 by GlossaMatik, translation #2737500 by eastasiastudent
- 越南语真的难学。Vietnamese is really hard to learn.This sentence expresses that 越南语 is a difficult language to study.Tatoeba #3344552 by ngbaanh, translation #3344553 by ngbaanh
- 越南人非常友好。Vietnamese people are very friendly.
- 我有一个越南朋友，她很善良。I have a Vietnamese friend, she is very kind.
- 我会说一点越南语。Wǒ huì shuō yīdiǎn Yuènányǔ.I can speak a little Vietnamese.
Example conversation
Two students are talking about language classes in a university lounge.
- 雨婷 Yuting浩然，你打算选什么语言课？Hàorán, nǐ dǎsuàn xuǎn shénme yǔyán kè?Haoran, what language class do you plan to take?
- 浩然 Haoran我想学越南语。Wǒ xiǎng xué Yuènányǔ.I want to study Vietnamese.
- 雨婷 Yuting你对越南语感兴趣吗？Nǐ duì Yuènányǔ gǎnxìngqù ma?Are you interested in Vietnamese?
- 浩然 Haoran对，我觉得这门语言很有趣。Duì, wǒ juéde zhè mén yǔyán hěn yǒuqù.Yes, I think this language is very interesting.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
