em
[ʔɛm˧˧]
In Vietnamese, the term for younger brother is em.
The word em is a versatile term used to refer to or address any younger sibling, regardless of their gender. Beyond biological relations, it is commonly used as a pronoun to address anyone who is younger than the speaker.
Meaning: single-word translations (noun)
Which one should you use?
While em can mean any younger sibling, the phrase em trai specifically specifies a male younger sibling. If you wish to refer to brothers collectively as siblings, you can use Anh em.
How does it change in a sentence?
Em functions as both a noun and a pronoun in Vietnamese sentences. To say "my younger brother", you add the possessive pronoun tôi after the noun phrase to create em trai tôi.
Did you know?
- In Vietnamese romantic relationships, a husband often addresses his wife as em, even if she is actually older than he is.
- Because em is used for anyone younger, a speaker might address a complete stranger as em to establish a friendly, protective, or elder-to-younger social dynamic.
Examples in context
- Nó là em trai tôi.He's my younger brother.This sentence shows how to use em to identify a person.Tatoeba #5758794 by yippe, translation #511852 by CK
- Em trai tôi vẫn đang ngủ.My younger brother is still sleeping.This sentence uses em to refer to a younger brother as the subject of a sentence.Tatoeba #3839498 by letuananh, translation #1834955 by Tavat
- Mary có một anh trai và một em trai.Mary has an older sister and a younger brother.This sentence uses em to contrast a younger sibling with an older sister.Tatoeba #3839434 by letuananh, translation #3839369 by Hybrid
- Đây là em trai của tôi, Hoàng.This is my younger brother, Hoang.
- Cậu ấy là em út trong gia đình.He is the youngest in the family.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lan and Hùng are talking about Hùng's family at a cafe.
- LanEm trai của bạn đâu rồi?Where is your younger brother?
- HùngEm đang đi học.He is at school.
- LanEm có ngoan không?Is he well-behaved?
- HùngEm rất ngoan.He is very well-behaved.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “younger brother” translations and entries em, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries em, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
