làm ơn
Vietnamese
Etymology
làm (“to do”) + ơn (恩, “favour; grace”).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [laːm˨˩ ʔəːn˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [laːm˦˩ ʔəːŋ˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [laːm˨˩ ʔəːŋ˧˧]
Verb
làm ơn
- to do (someone else) a favour; to do a good turn
Usage notes
- Làm ơn is a common (and usually awkward) translation of English please. However, the English please is usually expressed by the use of xin, vui lòng or clause-final particles (nhé, nha, đi) in Vietnamese, even in formal context. Làm ơn is most of the time sentence-initial and only used when the speaker begging the listener urgently.