hắn

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *hanʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(ʔ)anʔ ~ *ʔən; cognate with Car Nicobarese an (he, she, it), Pacoh ân (relative pronoun). The /h/ appeared in the proto-Vietic stage, which is also seen in hết (to finish).

Pronunciation

Pronoun

hắn (, )

  1. (derogatory or informal) he; him
  2. (archaic) he; him; she; her
  3. (chiefly Central Vietnam, familiar or informal) he; him; she; her

Usage notes

  • This word has various connotations depending on contexts:
    • As a derogatory pronoun, it refers to a man in a demeaning way.
    • As an informal pronoun, it may refers to a man who is very close to you. Young girls in literary works are portrayed as people who refer to their romantic partners as hắn, in an endearing way.
    • As a dialectal pronoun, it is the Central Vietnamese equivalent of , as it refers to any animal (including the human) in a condescending, informal way.

Synonyms

  • (non-Central Vietnamese):

See also

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.