Definition

1. Interjection:
   • Uttering inarticulate sounds: An interjection representing the babbling, cooing, or inarticulate sounds made by infants or very young children.
   • Humming a lullaby: Often used to represent the soft, soothing sounds made by caregivers, typically mothers, when humming or singing wordlessly to lull a baby to sleep.

Usage Examples

• Interjection:
  • Nghe tiếng em bé u ơ trong nôi. (Listen to the baby cooing in the cradle.)
  • Mẹ ru con ngủ bằng những âm điệu u ơ. (The mother lulls her child to sleep with humming sounds.)

Advanced Usage

• "u ơ" as a verb-like descriptor: While primarily an interjection, it can describe the act of making such sounds.
  • Đứa trẻ mới sinh đang tập u ơ. (The newborn baby is practicing babbling.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bập bẹ (verb): To babble, to stammer (often used for a child's first attempts at speech).
  • Em bé đang tập nói bập bẹ. (The baby is babbling, trying to speak.)
• Ọ ẹ (interjection): Another interjection for the gurgling or cooing sounds of a baby.

Synonyms

• Bập bẹ: To babble.
• Thỏ thẻ: To speak softly or whisper (often by a child).
• Ngọng nghịu: To speak in a childish, imperfect manner.

Related Phrases

• Ru con u ơ: To lull a child to sleep by humming.
  • Bà ngoại ngồi ru cháu u ơ. (The grandmother sat humming to lull her grandchild to sleep.)

Related Idioms

• Tuổi còn u ơ: A very young, infant age.
  • Nó mới tuổi còn u ơ, biết gì đâu. (He's still just a babe in arms, what does he know.)

noun

1. utter inarticulate sounds