LinguaOne family, many words
gia đình means family. Almost every other kinship word in Vietnamese carries information that English leaves out: whether the person is older or younger than you, and whether they belong to your father's side or your mother's side. There is no neutral word for brother – you always have to choose one.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| gia đình | family |
| bố | father (northern word) |
| mẹ | mother (northern word) |
| anh trai | older brother |
| chị gái | older sister |
| em trai | younger brother |
| em gái | younger sister |
Anh, chị, em come back
You already met anh, chị and em as address words. They are the very same words that name your siblings. When you talk about a sibling, add trai (male) or gái (female): anh trai, chị gái, em trai, em gái. When you talk to them, the bare word is enough: anh, chị, em.
Tôi có một anh trai và một em gái.I have one older brother and one younger sister.
Father's side, mother's side
Grandparents are split by side of the family. nội marks your father's side and ngoại your mother's side: ông nội is your father's father, bà nội his wife, ông ngoại your mother's father, bà ngoại her mother. The father's side is bên nội and the mother's side is bên ngoại.
Bà ngoại tôi sống ở Huế.My mother's mother lives in Huế.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gia đình | family | Gia đình tôi ở Hà Nội. My family is in Hanoi. |
| bố | father, dad | Bố tôi tên là Hùng. My father's name is Hùng. |
| mẹ | mother, mum | Mẹ tôi tên là Lan. My mother's name is Lan. |
| bố mẹ | parents | Bố mẹ tôi sống ở Huế. My parents live in Huế. |
| anh trai | older brother | Anh trai tôi tên là Nam. My older brother's name is Nam. |
| chị gái | older sister | Chị gái tôi tên là Hoa. My older sister's name is Hoa. |
| em trai | younger brother | Em trai tôi tên là Minh. My younger brother's name is Minh. |
| em gái | younger sister | Em gái tôi tên là Mai. My younger sister's name is Mai. |
| ông nội | father's father | Ông nội tôi năm nay tám mươi tuổi. My father's father is eighty this year. |
| bà ngoại | mother's mother | Bà ngoại tôi sống ở Huế. My mother's mother lives in Huế. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which word do you use when you talk about a male sibling who is older than you?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.