Today let’s learn how to say tableware in Vietnamese.
For the pronunciation of the vocabulary in this lesson, check out Vietnamese online dictionary in this resource list.
Muỗng
Muỗng means spoon. Unless you’re talking about spoon in general, muỗng is almost always used with cái to indicate individual spoon.
Cái muỗng means a spoon.
Examples:
Lấy cho em vài cái muỗng.
Get me a few spoons.
A: Em cần bao nhiêu cái muỗng?
B: Hai cái muỗng.
A: How many spoons do you need? B: Two spoons.
Other related words:
| Muỗng cà phê | Teaspoon |
| Muỗng canh | Tablespoon |
You may be wondering why a teaspoon is called muỗng cà phê in Vietnamese when cà phê means coffee. It’s because muỗng cà phê is not a literal translation of teaspoon. Muỗng cà phê refers to spoons of the same size as the teaspoon.
In Vietnam, muỗng cà phê is often used to add sugar to coffee and to stir; hence the name. In Vietnam, you will see that most people, if they drink tea, drink iced tea (trà đá) or hot tea (trà nóng), but not tea with sugar.
Nĩa
Nĩa means fork. Unless you’re talking about fork in general, nĩa is almost always used with cái to indicate individual fork. (Note: in Northern regions of Vietnam, e.g. Hanoi city, fork is dĩa, instead of nĩa, read more).
Cái nĩa means a fork.
Example:
A: Lấy cho anh một cái nĩa. (Get me a fork.)
B: Bao nhiêu cái? (How many?)
A: Một cái. (One.)
Đũa
Đũa means chopsticks. Chopsticks consist of two sticks of equal length, usually made of wood, metal or plastic. Chopsticks are often used in Vietnam to eat and cook.
Ðũa is a general term for chopsticks. If you want to be more specific and refer to a pair of chopsticks, you can say đôi đũa.
Examples:
Một đôi đũa
Hai đôi đũa
Ba đôi đũa
Dao
Dao means knife. Unless you are talking about knife(s) in general, dao is almost always used with con to indicate individual knife.
Example:
một con dao
one knife
Chén and tô
Both chén and tô means bowl(s) in English. However, in Vietnamese, chén means small bowl, and tô means big bowl.
Chén and tô are often used with cái. For example, cái chén or cái tô.
Examples:
In Northern regions in Vietnam, e.g. Hanoi, people use “chén” to refer to “small tea cup” instead, read more.
Dĩa
Dĩa means plate. Dĩa is often used with cái. (Note: in Northern regions in Vietnam, e.g. Hanoi city, the word dĩa is used to refer to fork. To refer to plate in these regions, people use đĩa, read more)
Example:
| một cái dĩa | one plate |
| mấy cái dĩa | a few plates |
Ly
Ly means glass.
Example:
một ly nước
a glass of water
Tách
Tách means cup.
Example:
Tách trà
Cup of tea (or tea cup)
Quiz
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