Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| thức dậy | [tʰɨk̚˧˦ zəj˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, narrow) [tʰɨk̚˦˧˥ jəj˨˩ʔ] (Huế, narrow) |
| dậy lên | [zəj˧˨ʔ len˧˧] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
| dậy | [zəj˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, narrow) [jəj˨˩ʔ] (Huế, narrow) |
| thức | [tʰɨk̚˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [tʰɨk̚˦˧˥] (Huế, narrow) |
The primary way to express the action of waking up is through the verb thức dậy. You may also use the shorter form dậy in casual conversation to mean both waking up and the act of getting out of bed. If you want to command someone to wake up or get up, you can add the particle đi to the word dậy, forming dậy đi!
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase thức dậy is composed of thức, meaning to be awake and dậy, meaning to rise or get up.
Which one should you use?
While thức dậy is the full verb for waking up, the shortened form dậy is very common in casual speech. There is also a distinction between thức and the other forms: thức refers specifically to the state of being awake (not sleeping), whereas thức dậy or dậy implies the transition from sleep to being awake or the act of getting out of bed.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate that someone woke up in the past tense, you can add the particle đã before thức dậy to form đã thức dậy.
Did you know?
- The word lên (to go up), which is used in the phrase dậy lên, is a cognate of the Khmer word ឡើង (laəng).
- The phrase dậy đi uses the particle đi not to indicate movement or 'going', but to turn the verb into a gentle or insistent command.
- Depending on the region, the tone and inflection used when saying dậy can change from a neutral request to a sharp command, even without adding other words.
Examples in context
- Hôm nay bạn có dậy sớm không?Did you wake up early today?This sentence shows how to use the form dậy to ask about waking up early.Tatoeba #13726640 by leucammieuvu, translation #13724156 by mervert1
- Tôi thường thức dậy lúc 6 giờ.I usually wake up at six.This sentence shows how to use the form thức dậy to describe a regular waking time.Tatoeba #1550466 by trieuho, translation #261501 by CK
- Tôi thức dậy lúc bảy giờ mỗi ngày.I wake up at seven o'clock every day.This sentence shows how to use the form thức dậy to describe a daily waking time.Tatoeba #11362808 by chaule3, translation #11362807 by chaule3
- Dậy đi.Wake up.
- Dậy đi, chúng ta đã muộn rồi!Wake up, we are late!
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Minh and Hương are talking in their bedroom in the morning.
- MinhHương ơi, dậy thôi!Hương, time to wake up!
- HươngEm vừa mới thức dậy thôi.I just woke up.
- MinhAnh muốn em thức dậy sớm hơn.I want you to wake up earlier.
- HươngNgày mai em sẽ dậy sớm.I will wake up early tomorrow.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wake up” translations and entries thức dậy, dậy, thức, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (dậy, lên) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dậy, lên, thức, thức dậy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
