tớ

See also: Appendix:Variations of "to"

Vietnamese

Etymology

Originally a noun meaning "servant".

For the semantic development, see also tôi.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [təː˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [təː˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [təː˦˥]

Noun

tớ • (四, 伵, 佐)

1. (archaic, now largely a fossil word) a servant

   Synonym: tôi

   đầy tớ ― a servant

   tôi tớ ― servants

   chủ tớ ― master and servant

Derived terms

• đầy tớ
• mày tao chi tớ
• tôi tớ

Pronoun

tớ • (四, 伵, 佐)

1. (familiar, friendly, chiefly Northern Vietnam) I; me

Usage notes

• This term is used when speaking to a fairly younger person, or to a person of the same age as the speaker (especially their close friend), or affectionately to one's own spouse. It is considered more polite or less derogatory than tao. The second person singular counterpart is cậu.

Anagrams

• ớt