về
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "ve"
Vietnamese
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ve˨˩]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [vej˦˩]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [vej˨˩] ~ [jej˨˩]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file) Audio (Saigon): (file)
Etymology 1
[edit]From Proto-Vietic *veːr (“to return”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *wir (“to go around, to turn around”); cognate with Muong wềl, Khmu wer ("to roll, to turn to the opposite end") and Khmer វេរ (vei). There are a wide range of words with similar forms and meanings to this word across the Austroasiatic family.
Most prepositions in Vietnamese were originally verbs: ở (“to stay; at, in”), đến (“to come; to”), tới (“to arrive; to”), lên (“to go up; onto”), vào (“to enter; in, into”), theo (“to follow; according to”), cho (“to give; for”).
Alternative forms
[edit]Verb
[edit]- to come back or go back (to somewhere one belongs or to some place that is one's own)
- về nhà ― to return home
- về quê ― to return to one's hometown
- về nước ― to return to one's country
- về khách sạn ― to go back to the hotel where one is currently staying
- trên đường về nhà ― headed back home
- hướng về Hà Tĩnh ― to be headed back (home) to Hà Tĩnh
- về phía ― toward the direction in question; as for
- 1922, Hồ Biểu Chánh, Ai làm được, Tín Đức Thư xã, chapter 3
- Chí Ðại lo sợ nên đi tối ngày không về nhà.
- Chí Đại was worried, so for the entire day he was away and did not return home.
- 1956, Nam Cao, Sống mòn, Văn nghệ, part X:
- Vợ Mô đi làm về, tạt qua sân, đi thẳng vào bếp của ngôi nhà lá.
- Mô's wife came back from work, crossed the yard, and went straight to the kitchen of the leaf-covered hut.
Usage notes
[edit]- To express returning to a place that is not one's own, such as someone else's home or country, one can use quay lại, trở lại, lại đến, and the like.
- To express coming back from a certain activity, the word về is normally placed after the verb describing that activity, such as
- đi chơi về ― to go back home after going out
See also
[edit]Derived terms
Preposition
[edit]về
- about; on
- Tôi đã suy nghĩ về cô ấy.
- I have been thinking about her.
- lo lắng về sức khỏe
- worry about health
- into
- Các phòng trưng bày nghệ thuật mở cửa về khuya.
- All the art galleries are open late into the night.
Etymology 2
[edit]Noun
[edit]về
- (Southern Vietnam) a thick layer
- Trứng muỗi nở ra lăng quăng, nổi trên mặt nước thành từng về lớn trong điều kiện yên tĩnh.
- Mosquito eggs hatch into larvae that form a thick layer floating near the surface when the water is calm.
Categories:
- Vietnamese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Vietnamese terms with audio pronunciation
- Vietnamese terms inherited from Proto-Vietic
- Vietnamese terms derived from Proto-Vietic
- Vietnamese terms inherited from Proto-Mon-Khmer
- Vietnamese terms derived from Proto-Mon-Khmer
- Vietnamese lemmas
- Vietnamese verbs
- Vietnamese terms with collocations
- Vietnamese terms with usage examples
- Vietnamese terms with quotations
- Vietnamese prepositions
- Vietnamese nouns
- Southern Vietnamese