thầy

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (Northern Vietnam, obsolete in writing) thày

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 師 (SV: sư). Doublet of sư. Feudal Han or Nom teachers were generally male, hence the strictly modern use for male teachers.

The written form thày used to be common in the Northern dialects, now mostly eradicated in writing, although the pronunciation itself likely still remains in less mainstream Northern dialects.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key):
• (Huế) IPA^(key):
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key):

Noun

thầy • (柴, 偨)

1. a male teacher

   Synonym: thầy giáo

2. (history, now literary) a teacher

   Muốn sang thì bắc cầu kiều
   Muốn con hay chữ thì yêu lấy thầy

   Want to cross a river? Build a bridge
   Want your children educated? Show their teacher some love

3. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) a father

   thầy mẹ/u ― parents

4. (only in compounds) Buddhist monk; expert

   thầy cãi ― a lawyer

   thầy lang ― a practitioner of East Asian alternative medicine

Derived terms

Pronoun

thầy

1. I/me, your male teacher
2. you, my male teacher
3. he/him, that male teacher we're talking about
4. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) I/me, your father
5. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) you, my father
6. (dialectal, Northern Vietnam) he/him, your/my father

See also

• mẹ; u (“mother”)
• cô (“female teacher”)