tạm biệt

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 暫別, composed of 暫 (“temporary”) and 別 (“to leave”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˨ʔ ʔɓiət̚˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [taːm˨˩ʔ ʔɓiək̚˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [taːm˨˩˨ ʔɓiək̚˨˩˨]

Interjection

tạm biệt

1. (formal or literary) farewell; till we meet again

Verb

tạm biệt

1. (literary) to bid farewell

   Synonyms: giã từ, từ biệt

   nói lời tạm biệt ― to bid farewell

Usage notes

• This word is almost never used in conversation. It is mostly seen in translation works from other languages or used as an equivalent of English goodbye in language teaching. In daily conversation, simply use chào (“hello; goodbye”) or bai (“bye”) instead, preferably with final particles such as nhé and nha.

See also

• vĩnh biệt