Ways to say it
| Vietnamese |
|---|
| (cuộc) bầu cử |
| (cuộc) biểu quyết |
| (sự) bỏ phiếu |
| (sự) bầu phiếu |
| (cuộc) đi bầu |
In Vietnamese, the term for 'vote' changes based on whether you are discussing a single act of casting a ballot, a group decision or the entire election process. You may also use related verbs such as bỏ phiếu, đầu phiếu or biểu quyết to express the act of asserting a choice.
Which one should you use?
The forms differ based on the scale and nature of the voting. cuộc bầu cử refers to the entire election process or event, whereas bỏ phiếu focuses on the specific procedural act of casting a ballot or submitting a vote. If a group is voting to reach a consensus or a decision on a specific motion or proposal, typically within a meeting or assembly, use biểu quyết. Finally, đi bầu is a common way to express the physical action of going out to participate in an election.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the nouns bầu cử or biểu quyết, they are often preceded by the classifier cuộc to transform the abstract concept into a countable event, such as 'the election'. For the verb bỏ phiếu, the future tense is expressed as Sẽ bỏ phiếu.
Did you know?
- The verb bỏ in the phrase bỏ phiếu literally means 'to discard' or 'to abandon'. This creates a curious mental image where a voter is 'discarding' a ballot to cast it.
- The word bầu in bầu cử is a homonym that also means 'gourd' in Vietnamese.
- When discussing a decision made by a group, the word quyết in biểu quyết carries the weight of 'determination' or 'finality'. It emphasizes that the vote is not just a choice, but a definitive decision.
Examples in context
- Em đã bỏ phiếu cho ứng cử viên Y tại cuộc bầu cử.I voted for candidate Y in the election.
- Chúng ta cần tất cả mọi người đi bỏ phiếu.We need everyone to go and vote.
- Ngày mai là ngày bỏ phiếu quan trọng, hãy chuẩn bị cho nó.Tomorrow is an important voting day, be prepared for it.
- Tôi đã bỏ phiếu hôm nay.I voted today.
- Ngày mai chúng ta sẽ chọn ứng viên tốt nhất.Tomorrow, we will vote for the best candidate.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “vote” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries biểu, bầu, cử, phiếu, quyết, CC BY-SA 4.0.
