thẳng
Vietnamese
Etymology
Most likely a loanword.
Its source is unclear; compare Middle Chinese 侹 (MC thengH) "long, level, straight (obsolete)" → SV: thính. See also bằng.
The native Vietic word for "straight" is ngay, which also has Khmuic cognates.
It is a semantic loan from English straight, in the sense of “heterosexual”.
Pronunciation
Adjective
thẳng • (𣦎, 𣦛, 𥊢, 𥊣, 𬆅, 𬆈)
- straight
- vẽ đường thẳng ― to draw a straight line
- đoạn đường rất thẳng ― a very straight stretch of road
- direct; nonstop
- chuyến bay thẳng ― nonstop flight
- (slang, colloquial) heterosexual
- Antonym: cong
- Thằng/Con này là trai/gái thẳng thật đấy!
- This guy/gal is straight for real!
Adverb
thẳng • (𣦎, 𣦛, 𥊢, 𥊣, 𬆅, 𬆈)
- straight; upright
- đứng thẳng ― to stand up straight
- chạy thẳng qua ngã tư ― to drive straight through the intersection
- (figurative) straightforwardly; forthrightly; sincerely
- directly, continuously, without stopping
- đi thẳng về nhà ― to go straight home
- ngủ thẳng đến sáng ― to sleep all the way until morning
- bay thẳng từ Mỹ về Việt Nam ― to fly nonstop from America to Vietnam
- directly, without anything intervening
- nói thẳng với bạn ― to speak directly with a friend
- gặp thẳng giám đốc mà nói ― to speak directly with a supervisor
- straight away; soon after
- nói xong bỏ đi thẳng ― to hightail it after one is done speaking
Derived terms
- căng thẳng
- ngay thẳng
- nói thẳng
- thẳng băng
- thẳng đuột
- thẳng đứng
- thẳng hàng
- thẳng óng
- thẳng rẳng
- thẳng tay
- thẳng tắp
- thẳng thắn
- thẳng thớm
- thẳng thừng
- thẳng tính