ọ ẹ
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To babble / to coo: To produce the first soft, indistinct, and often repetitive sounds made by a baby or infant, typically before they can form recognizable words.
- To murmur / to gurgle: To make quiet, gentle, and unclear vocal sounds, often associated with a baby waking up, being content, or trying to vocalize.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Cháu mới ọ ẹ được mấy tiếng. (The baby has only just begun to babble a few sounds.)
- Em bé nằm trong nôi ọ ẹ. (The baby lies in the crib cooing.)
- Nghe thấy tiếng con ọ ẹ, mẹ liền thức giấc. (Hearing the baby murmur, the mother woke up immediately.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used to describe the pre-linguistic vocalizations of a very young infant. It captures the tentative, experimental nature of a baby's first attempts at using their voice.
Variants and Related Words
- Bi bô (v): to babble, to prattle. Often used for slightly more developed baby talk or childish speech.
- Đứa trẻ bi bô tập nói. (The child babbles while learning to speak.)
Synonyms
- Babble: to utter sounds in an incoherent or repetitive way, typical of babies.
- Coo: to make a soft, murmuring sound like that of a dove or a contented baby.
- Gurgle: to make a hollow, bubbling sound, often made by babies.
Notes on Usage
- "Ọ ẹ" is an onomatopoeic word in Vietnamese, imitating the sounds made by an infant. It is not used for the speech of older children or adults.
- It primarily describes the action of producing the sound itself, not the act of trying to speak words.
- Bable
- Cháu mới ọ ẹ được mấy tiếngBaby only begins to babble a few words