biên

See also: bien, biển, biến, biện, and Bien.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓiən˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓiəŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓiəŋ˧˧]

Etymology 1

Sino-Vietnamese word from 邊. Doublet of ven.

Noun

biên

1. (rare, only in fixed expressions) Clipping of biên giới (“frontier”).

   vượt biên trái phép

   to illegally cross the border

2. (sports) a boundary

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 編 (“to weave, to plait; to arrange; to edit, to compile”).

Verb

biên

1. to jot down
2. to write