Hi everyone,

Please could someone help me with these Vietnamese name meanings. I want to know exactly the meaning in English and also which name is prettiest or best for a newborn baby girl (of mixed race)

Bao Vy
Bao Ngoc
Giang Uyen
Linh Ha
Nhu Thao
My Uyen
Mai Chi

Thanks very much

Bảo (valuables) Vy (small) = Small valuables = I don't like this name, i like Bảo Đại (big valuables) more instead

Bảo (valuables) Ngọc (gem) = A treasure = Wow, the little girl can be a.....goldsmith someday. J/K!

Giáng (touch down) Uyên (deep) = Someone touch down from heaven and fall into a deep hole for example.

Linh (holy or smart) Hà (river) = Holy river (Ganga river for example )

Như (as) Thảo (grass) = A girl's as soft as grass

Mỹ (beautiful) Uyên (deep) = She will be deeply beautiful

Mai (apricot blossom) Chi (branch) = A branch of apricot blossom.

Personally I think none of these name is pretty

Thanks for replying!

I think i agree with you about the prettiness of the names, the meanings are really nice but i have heard much prettier sounding vietnamese names for a little girl especially as growing up in england it needs to be pronounceable!!

Do you have any other pretty name suggestions for me? He gets to pick the middle name and i get to pick the first but it has to sound nice together (btw i'm not sure at all what first name i want- which doesn't help!!)

He likes Bao Ngoc but personally out of all of those i like My Uyen

Thanks again

Congratulations to your baby.


May she be blessed with peace and joy.

I generally dislike the habit of translating everything into H-V and try to get the meaning from there. Not all names were chosen based on classical meaning, some are chosen just for their "feel", or "good sounding". Furthermore, your translation can be wrong.

"Vy" in "Bảo Vy" doesn't mean "small". It's just a nice sounding word, as in "Tường Vy" (or "Tường Vi") or "Thúy Vy"

Uyên is also the name of a bird I think.

THảo may mean grass in H-V, but it also has native Vietnamese meaning as in "hiền thảo", "thơm thảo".

I think you should just pick something that you like and go with it. This game of trying to decipher the ancient meaning is kind of out-of-dated now. 99% of the people won't know it anyway (apart from the common meaning that everyone vaguely understands)

If you live in English speaking world you should avoid the names like "Mỹ" since when written in English people will always read them as "Mai". Unless you don't mind being called "Mai", but then you should just take that name instead.

In general, Mai, Kim, Len, ... are good names to take because they're easy to pronounce and still has a sense of exoticism in them. "Mai" is actually a Japanese name as well. Ngoc or Uyen are good if you don't mind the part where the natives try to pronounce them. (They'll probably pronounce Uyen as "you yen" and Ngoc as "ngók").

Is the name below girl or boy?


Dda.i Vi~

Vy is a flower name. It can be hoa tử vy or hoa tường vy. Bảo Vy can be thought of as a precious flower.

Bảo Ngọc is a precious gem

Uyên is a colorful bird (see mandarin ducks). Giáng is descending. Giáng Uyên can be interpreted as a uyên bird descending from the sky.

Linh Hà can be interpreted as a beautiful river or a godly river

Như means "similar". Thảo means "countryside". Như Thảo is countryside-like

Mỹ Uyên means a beautiful bird (the bird I showed above)

Mai Chi is a plum blossom branch.


In my opinion, Mai Chi is the most beautiful.


As for pdrive, the Vy in Thúy Vy may not be the same as Vy in Tường Vy.
Thúy Vy can mean "thâm thúy" and "tinh vy". Vy of Tinh Vy is small, which different from Vy of Tường Vy, which is a flower name.
However, Thúy Vy can also be interpreted as a "hoa tường vy màu xanh biếc".


On the contrary to what you think, I believe all names got meanings, meanings that actually make sense, not random like EnoughOfThisCheek put it. Outsiders just don't know, only the parents know.

This is really confusing. 3 years of Vietnamese in college didn't teach me much apparently....

I took four years of Spanish. Am I gonna compare myself to a native Spanish speaker?

Ahaha but I need to be really good at vietnamese in 4 years because my job will most likely relocate me to Vietnam. Ive been watching random vietnamese news on YouTube and I must say they speak very fast!!! And forget Han viet altogether please!

Listen to Southern Vietnamese news. They speak slower than Northern Vietnamese news.

Nvm, they speak at about the same rate. It's just that I'm more used to Southern Vietnamese.

"Thao" does not interpret as "countryside". Thao generally stands for "hie^'u tha?o".

Suggested other names:

Tra^m
Thy or Thi
Nghi
Thu'y

Or you could go search for vpop female singers and use their names because most of vpop singers use unique names which aint really their names.

(Danh) Cỏ. § Đời xưa viết là 艸. ◎Như: thảo mộc 草木 cỏ cây, hoa thảo 花草 hoa cỏ.
(Danh) Nhà quê, đồng ruộng, hoang dã. ◎Như: thảo mãng 草莽 vùng cỏ hoang, thảo trạch 草澤 nhà quê, thôn dã.
http://www.vietnamtudien.org/hanviet/index.php



I won't scold you much because this is coming from someone who thought mui doc dua means curved nose

Tha?o has more than one meaning. You can bring all the Chinese literature here but when parent name their daughter Tha?o, they expected to be "Hieu Tha?o" not some "grass" or "country side" like you think.

You are too much in the books, lacking real life experience. LOL. In fact, my older sister name "Tha?o". Con phai co hieu thao voi cha me, that is why they named their daughter "Tha?o".

Are you the parent of whoever named Nhu Thao? Who are you to tell what the parents intention should be?

Yes, Thao has many meanings. But you said it can't mean "countryside". I never said it can't mean pious.

I have a neighbor whose name is Thảo Nguyên. Of course, anyone fluent in Vietnamese would know what Thao Nguyen means...but this nevergone is gonna say Thao can't mean that way, no parent is gonna name their child "grass"...It has to mean hieu thao.

I did not say that "Thao" does not mean "Countryside" or "Grass". What I was saying is when it comes to naming usually "Tha?o" expected to be "Hie^u Thao" not "grass" or "countryside".

If Thao means "countryside" to you then what does it mean for "Thanh Tha?o" as the name? some kind of countryside gem?

Thao Nguyen means grassland. Usually, parent dont name their daughter "Thao Nguyen". It is rare name out there. Also, Tha?o supports Nguyen is different than Tha?o as first name.

OMG You're the biggest idiot I've ever seen.

Thanh Thảo means green grass, cỏ xanh.

WTF is with gem? What part of Thanh Thảo means gem? You're stupid beyond imagination.

I have to be the one who ask you how you're gonna interpret thanh thảo if it means hiếu thảo.

And yes, obviously LOTS of parents use "grass" to their child


Hương Thảo, Phương Thảo, Anh Thảo, Nguyên Thảo...All "thảo" there mean grass.

Như Thảo can be interpreted as piety like you said.

But what do you mean when you said parents won't name their children "grass" or "countryside"?


That's it.
I know it's gonna go nowhere arguing with nevergone. I'm done with him. I should leave him to thumbsup, papen or pdrive.
Ciao

Look at the website see what it says



http://www.meaning-of-names.com/vietnamese-names/thao.asp

http://www.all-babynames.com/meaning-of-name-Thao.html

http://www.20000-names.com/male_vietnamese_names.htm

http://merschat.com/babynames/index.cgi?fu...amp;bn_key=5980

All the websites point to one meaning, however you kept insisting "thao = countryside" lol. Che.p, po' chie^u' voi con be' xigon nay`.

You're so much an idiot that it's hard to not reply to you.

You use an English baby name site to argue on this.

Of course, Thảo can mean piety, but it doesn't always mean so.


Thanh Thảo, Phương Thảo, Nguyên Thảo, Anh Thảo, Hương Thảo, Thu Thảo...They all mean "grass" in these cases (grass ~ countryside if you want to put it in a better way).

Thảo can't mean "respect" in any of the above cases.

How the hell can anyone make a meaning out of the above names if they always take thảo as "respect" like you said.


Hương Thảo? Respect the fragrance? Fragrant respect?
Please take your stupidity elsewhere or do yourself a favor and go back to elementary school.

I sense that nevergone is a very clueless and misinformed young Vietnamese-American.

So, you're trying to say that my sister name "grass" or "countryside" according to your knowledge of "Tha?o as countryside" lol. Damn, my parents must expecting my sister give them "grass" or "countryside" lol.


dont try to turn the wheel on you. "Thao?" by itself GENERALLY stands for "hieu thao". "Nhu Tha?o" in this case does not mean "countryside like" like you were trying interpret. "Tha?o" also means "grass" However generally, parents dont name their daughter as "grass" such as "Thao Moc" or "Thao Nguyen". There are cases but they are rare cases and considered as "bad name"

Vietnamese culture, parent expected their daughters/sons to be "hieu thao" to them. That's why they name their daughter/son "Tha?o". Thu Thao, Huong Thao, Thanh Thao those names generally used by those entertainers, singers for examples. Because those entertainers they made up their names for entertaining purpose. Again, generally, Vietnamese parents dont name their daughters/sons as "Grass".

Yea, and he always calls us "white-washed teenagers".

Whatever his sister's name means is something else. He's trying to say most "Thao" should mean "respect to parents" just because his sister's name means so. This is so lame. The meaning changes depending on the context. Even if Thao stands alone, it can mean either way. Lots of Vietnamese parents came from the countryside and they have emotional attachments to grass fields (dong co), hence they often their daughter that way. It gives a memory of "huong dong co noi"...Nevergone is just a clueless kid who's trying to say Thao cannot be interpreted as "grass" or "countryside" in names "generally". This is so lame. Majority of Thao in names do mean "grass" or "countryside"...Give me a list of "common" Thao names, I can show you that majority of them has something to do with grass.

So, "Nhu Thao" = "Countryside like" hahaha.



You are the best Xigon.

Now, when I see someone name Thao, i just call them "co?" hahaha instead of Tha?o . If they ask i say "well, I just learnt this from Xigon on AF, Tha?o = Grass = Co?.

It seems I have something to play with my sister whose name "Thao?". hahaha.

lol

You'll just go in circles with him since it seems he doesn't understand or tries to understand what you're saying.
It'll just frustrate and bring out the bad side in you.

Im a lurker, but reading this thread made me get a little irritated.
I usually agree with Xixon princess, and I know that she's educated enough to back up her replies, but her attitude in these type of threads is horrible.
She has to be RIGHT about everything. If what others say do not match up to her standards then they are WRONG.
Not only are they wrong, but "the biggest idiot" she ever met.
Opinions differ, yes, but don't put other people down. I don't see nevergone (I disagree with him 95% of the time), going around calling her an idiot.

Anyways, back to the topic. I think what nevergone was saying is that the name Thao is generally given with the meaning 'hieu thao'. Of course, that is not the ONLY meaning, as "grass" is another one, but it is the most popular pick. 'Countryside' (NEVER in my life have I heard of this but I'm trusting princess) can be another meaning. It is not common, but instead is probably rare. So I don't get why princess is promoting it.

Omo this is confusing!

Stop lurking and join in more often.

Some people have trouble understanding how thao can refer to countryside because they always take thao literally as "grass" but they just can't see the bigger picture of grass fields ~ which lead to the image of countryside.

And I don't regret calling nevergone the biggest idiot ever since he got "gem" out of Thanh Thao. WTF is that? I was trying to be nice all along before he throws out that line "what is thanh thao? country side gem?" Please. A 5th-grader in Vietnam can tell how stupid that is. It's not opinion. It's just plain stupidity.

BTW idontknow, go back and read carefully before you babble again. From the beginning, nevergone said Thao DOES NOT mean countryside/grass, and that was why I argued with him in the beginning. I didn't argue on whether it can mean respect to parents. Until the end, he's still trying to insist that Thao as grass in names are RARE, which you seem to agree on. Suggestion to you. How about go take a look at all the names with the word "Thao" in it...I wonder if you dare to tell me, most of them don't have anything to do with grass.

If you want approximation, more than 50% of names with "Thao" have something to do with grass. That's nowhere being rare like somebody is trying to insist.

Thảo (plant)


Thảo (personality)


same pronunciation, different meanings

P/S:

This has nothing to do with nevergone, but after re-reading this thread and a few others, I've realized that nowadays many people have a sickness - that sickness is reading everything literally and translating word for word.

For example,
I've seen people say Tuyết Mai is "hoa mai tuyết" (hoa mai bằng tuyết???) but its meaning should be mai trên tuyết. Đóa hoa mai nở giữa trời tuyết lạnh lẽo trong khi các hoa khác đều tàn úa, biểu trưng cho một nghị lực phi thường.
I've seen people say Băng Tâm is "trái tim băng giá"(trái tim lạnh lẽo), but its meaning should be trái tim/tâm hồn tinh khiết trong sạch như băng.
Some also say Minh Tâm is trái tim thông minh, trái tim minh mẫn thay vì trái tim/tâm hồn trong sáng, hoặc "thấu suốt tâm/lòng"...

Cứ cái đà này thế hệ sau đọc thơ của cha ông mình ngày xưa sẽ chả hiểu cái gì cả. Sad.

Thanks! This is what they should have left the discussion like this!

It has the character of early/morning 早 combine with grass 艹


It has the character of 言 (speak) combine with 寸 (law/hand)

Anyway, can give out a picture of a grass field in the morning if you think about the characters combination. It can be a farm field as well. Look at the old writing of grass



Look like Lúa to me also

Hey thảo of hiếu thảo is thuần Việt, not Hán Việt.

Just letting you guys know. If you guys are discussing Hán Việt, then there's no thảo that means piety, respect to parents.


papen, I was gonna yell at you but I think I've yelled at you too much in the past already so I'll go easy on you this time. Both characters you just showed are chữ nho, không phải chữ nôm. >.<

The first character is thảo of thảo nguyên

The second character papen posts is thảo of thảo luận, not thảo of hiếu thảo.

Thảo of hiếu thảo is thuần Việt. Chữ Hán là hiếu. Từ "hiếu thảo" là kết hợp giữa một chữ thuần Việt và một chữ Hán Việt có cùng nghĩa.
Tương tự như từ "thiên lệch". Thiên là Hán Việt, nghĩa là nghiêng lệch. Lệch là thuần Việt.
Một chữ tương tự khác là "di dời". Di là Hán Việt. Dời là thuần Việt. Cả hai có cùng nghĩa.
"Rèn luyện" cũng vậy. Rèn là thuần Việt. Luyện là Hán Việt. Cả hai có cùng nghĩa.

Yea, i know. You yelled at me so much that made me didn't want to come here anymore.. lol
I used nomfoundation's dictionary and it uses Thảo 討 for Hiếu thảo



I didn't say if it's thuần việt or Hán Việt though. As obviously, if I look at the characters combination, it doesn't form the meaning of "thảo với cha mẹ"

In the case I guess they just copied a chữ nho exactly and make it chữ nôm based on similarity of the sound.

chữ nôm is pretty lousy I would say.

Yes, in some cases. For example 中, Han-Viet is "Trung" (ex: trung tâm 中心 center)
But it means "trong" as well even though "trong" is pure Vietnamese.

^ But that's the same meaning.

Thảo of thảo luận means to discuss. Thảo of hiếu thảo means piety to parents. Two different meanings.

As I said, chữ nôm seems kinda lousy and confusing at times. I'm glad we have quốc ngữ now.


They use ngã 我 of tôi for ngã as in té ngã. A person knowing both hán việt and thuần việt. I would stumble sometimes if I see it, not knowing whether it should be "I" or "fall". Of course, I will realize its true meaning after a few seconds, but it's still inconvenient.

Likewise, if I see 討, I may get thrown off as to whether it's thảo of thảo luận or thảo of hiếu thảo.

You like easy stuffs? lol

I was never a fan of nôm. Too many confusing characters. But then chữ Hán are pretty lousy too.

If I was the ruler in the old time, I would have decided on something like this, but less lousy

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/chuvong.php

But of course it's useless now that we got quốc ngữ.

Ngã for meaning of tôi is very old meaning and no one uses it anymore. If you compare them between "fall down" or "the way" (theo ngã này) then yes
Anyway, if you think about English. Same thing happens. c@ck can mean both chicken or penis

I study Nôm just because I'm interested in it after like freaking 3 years studying Chinese.
Yea, you should become a ruler so we have a new writing system.. lol

put joking aside, Chữ Vòng is interesting. It reminds me of Lao writing with all the circles in all the characters

Why didn't they just use 艹 on top and 好 at bottom to represent thảo of hiếu thảo?

That way it won't be confused with thảo of thảo luận 討

The hard part of Nom is that there are many ways to write one word.

One was completely substituting an existing Han word with same sound for a Viet word.
That would be like what you were talking about.

There are 3-4 other ways to write it though, your suggestion is also one.

Nom wasn't standardized so no one way is right.

I find nom also harder because old pronunciation is different from newer pronunciation
which feels like you're memorizing more than you should.