hoàng tử

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 皇子, composed of 皇 (“emperor”) and 子 (“son”). The "imperial" connotation of hoàng has been lost due to its favorability over vương, likely due to the influence of historically imperial China and imperial Vietnam, whose monarchs referred to themselves as hoàng đế (“emperor”) or used hoàng in their titles (e.g. Lí Chiêu Hoàng) Compare hoàng hậu (“queen consort”, literally “empress consort”), nữ hoàng (“queen regnant”, literally “empress regnant”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [hwaːŋ˨˩ tɨ˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [hwaːŋ˦˩ tɨ˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [waːŋ˨˩ tɨ˨˩˦]

Noun

hoàng tử

1. prince (son or male-line grandson of a reigning monarch)

   Synonyms: vương tử, ông hoàng

Usage notes

• A hoàng tử is a son of an emperor or a king. A mere husband of a princess is called phò mã.

Related terms

• thái tử