xanh

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 青 (“grue”; SV: thanh).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sajŋ̟˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [san˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [san˧˧]

Adjective

xanh (𩇛, 𩇢, 𫕹) (reduplicated form xanh xanh)

1. grue (green or blue in languages that do not distinguish the two colors)
2. (of fruit) "green"; unripe

Usage notes

• xanh lá cây or xanh lục should not be overused because it will make sentences clunky in Vietnamese. Most of the time, Vietnamese people do not really care about those shades and they simply go with xanh. A few do use lục and lam to avoid any confusion at all.

Synonyms

• (green): xanh lá cây, xanh lục, lục
• (blue): lam, xanh lam, xanh dương, lơ, xanh lơ
• (unripe): non, chưa chín

Antonyms

• (unripe): chín

Derived terms

green

• đậu xanh (“mung bean”)
• đèn xanh đỏ (“traffic signals”)
• xanh bủng
• xanh biếc (“very blue”)
• xanh lè
• xanh lơ (“cyan”)
• xanh ngắt

• xanh om
• xanh rờn
• xanh tốt
• xanh tươi
• xanh xanh (“grue-ish”)
• xanh xao (“very pale”)