Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| tây | [təj˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [təj˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
| phía tây | [fiə˧˦ təj˧˧] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
| hướng tây | [hɨəŋ˧˦ təj˧˧] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
tây is used to denote the compass point west. When you want to refer to the Western world or Western culture, you typically use the phrase phương Tây, where the word Tây is capitalized. Other related terms for this concept include phưng tây and Tây phương.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase phía tây literally means "west side" or "the western direction", where phía means "side" or "direction". The phrase hướng tây literally means "west direction", as hướng means "direction".
Which one should you use?
While tây can stand alone to mean "west", it is more common to use phía tây or hướng tây when you are specifying a direction within a full sentence.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Vietnam, the term miền Tây specifically refers to the western part of the country.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In spoken Vietnamese, the word đằng is often used to indicate a direction or a distant location, such as in the phrase đằng tây (over in the west).
Did you know?
- In traditional Vietnamese architecture, the direction tây is often avoided for main entrances because it is associated with the harsh afternoon sun.
- Vietnamese has a specific word for 'Western' in the sense of 'modern' or 'trendy'. Because Tây represents the West, adopting tây styles or habits often implies a desire for modernization.
- The word tây is used as a common noun to refer to a Western person. In casual conversation, you might hear someone refer to a foreigner from Europe or North America simply as ông Tây or bà Tây.
Examples in context
- Mặt trời lặn đằng tây.The sun sets in the west.This sentence uses tây to describe where the sun sets.Tatoeba #13861541 by leucammieuvu, translation #275141 by CK
- Gió thổi từ hướng Tây.The wind is coming from the west.This sentence uses tây to describe the direction of the wind.Tatoeba #13893857 by leucammieuvu, translation #13892633 by frpzzd
- Tôi đến từ bờ biển phía tây.I'm from the West Coast.This sentence uses tây to describe a location on the coast.Tatoeba #5148707 by truongap, translation #1912020 by Spamster
- Phần tây của đất nước nổi tiếng với cảnh quan đẹp.The western part of the country is known for its beautiful landscapes.
- Hãy đi phía tây thành phố.Let's go to the west side of the city.
- Rạp chiếu phim nằm ở phía tây của trung tâm thương mại.The cinema is located on the west side of the mall.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nam and Chi are looking at a map during a hike.
- NamChi ơi, mình nên đi về phía nào?Chi, which way should we go?
- ChiNam nhìn xem, bản đồ chỉ hướng tây.Nam, look, the map points west.
- NamVậy chúng ta đi về phía tây nhé.So let's head west then.
- ChiĐúng rồi, đi hướng đó là chính xác.Right, going that way is correct.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “west” translations and entries tây, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (phía, tây, hướng) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
