anh em

Vietnamese

Etymology

anh +‎ em.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔajŋ̟˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɛɲ˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔan˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧]

• Audio (Hồ Chí Minh City)

  (file)

Noun

anh em

1. (literal, collective) older brother and younger sibling (with brothers only, or with one sister who is the youngest)
2. (broadly, collective) siblings
3. (broadly, collective) family; brethren

Pronoun

anh em

1. y'all, you guys, my bros, my pals

   Ý tôi là thế, anh em thấy thế nào?

   So that was my opinion, what do you guys think?

Usage notes

• A more inclusive expression would be anh chị em (literally “older brother, older sister and younger sibling”).
• Suffixed with ta (as in anh em ta (“we, us”) to make it more intimate.

Related terms

• ông bà anh chị em
• chị em

Further reading

• "anh em" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)