quê

See also: Appendix:Variations of "que"

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From que (“what”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈke/
• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

quê

1. (sentence-final) what (which thing)

   Pensas no quê?

   What are you thinking about?

   Quê?

   What?

Derived terms

• não há de quê
• por quê
• porquê

Noun

quê m (plural quês)

1. a characteristic (distinguishable feature of a person or thing)

Etymology 2

Noun

quê m (plural quês)

1. cue (name of the letter Q, q)

---

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *k-veːr ~ *k-weːl (“village”); cognate with Muong quêl (“village”) and Chut [Rục] /kəveːl¹/. Compare also Proto-Katuic *wiil ~ *weel (whence Pacoh veil).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kwe˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kwej˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [wej˧˧]

Noun

quê (圭, 𬫀)

1. countryside; the country
2. a birthplace
3. a hometown

   Tết này có về quê hông?

   Will you go back to your hometown this New Year?

4. one's parent's birthplace

Usage notes

• When making an ID card, it is required to list your parent's (usually father's) hometown instead even if it's not the same as yours.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• dân quê
• làng quê
• nhà quê
• quê hương
• quê nhà
• quê quán

 

Adjective

quê

1. Short for quê mùa (“typical of countrymen; rural, lame and tacky”).
2. (Southern Vietnam, by extension) very embarrassing; mortifying

Derived terms

Derived terms

• quê xệ