cháu

See also: chau, chầu, châu, and Châu

Min Nan

For pronunciation and definitions of cháu – see 走 (“to go; to walk; to go on foot; to run; to jog; etc.”). (This character, cháu, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 走.)

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *cuːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *cuuʔ. Cognate with Muong [Bi] chảu (“son-in-law”), Khmer ចៅ (caw), Bahnar sŏu/sâu, Pacoh achau, Khasi 'siew.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaw˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaw˨˩˦]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ca(ː)w˦˥]

Noun

cháu • (𡥙, 𫲤, 𫲰)

a grandchild, a nephew or a niece

Usage notes

There is no distinction between "grandchild", "nephew" and "niece". For foreign speakers, the age of the person in question could be a clue to the exact status of the cháu they're talking about. For instance, someone young or middle-aged is more likely to have a niece or a nephew than a grandchild. That said, there's also the possibility a young person may have a distant cousin whom they call their "grandchild".

Derived terms

cháu chắt
con cháu

Pronoun

cháu

(chiefly Northern Vietnam) I/me, your nephew, niece or grandchild
Synonym: con
(Northern Vietnam) I/me, someone who's not your child and who's a lot younger than you
Synonym: con
(chiefly Northern Vietnam) you, my nephew, niece or grandchild
Synonym: con
(Northern Vietnam) you, someone who's not my child and who's a lot younger than me
Synonym: con
he/him/she/her, the child under my guardianship (my child or grandchild) who we're talking about
Synonym: cháu nó