anh em

Vietnamese

Etymology

anh +‎ em.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔajŋ̟˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɛɲ˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔan˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧]

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Noun

anh em

1. (literal, collective) older brother and younger sibling (with brothers only, or with one sister who is the youngest)
2. (broadly, collective) siblings
3. (broadly, collective) family; brethren

Pronoun

anh em

1. y'all, you guys, my bros, my pals

   Ý tôi là thế, anh em thấy thế nào?

   So that was my opinion, what do you guys think?

Usage notes

• A more inclusive expression would be anh chị em (literally “older brother, older sister and younger sibling”).
• Suffixed with ta (as in anh em ta (“we, us”) to make it more intimate.

Related terms

• ông bà anh chị em
• chị em

Further reading

• "anh em" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)