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Place names in Vietnamese are similar to place names in
Chinese languages as a result of the millenium-long domination of Viet Nam by
the Chinese Empire.
The first step in decoding Vietnamese place names is to learn the four
directions.Place Names
These are, expressed without some diacritical marks,:
| DIRECTIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| north bac |
||
| west t�y |
east | |
| south nam |
||
The names of geographic features are:
| GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES | |
|---|---|
| ha | river |
| xuijin | channel, link |
| cao, nui | mountain(s), height |
| hai | ocean, sea |
| giang | expanse(s), spreadout |
| vung | hole |
| vinh | bay, valley |
| forest | |
The names of colors and numbers are:
| COLORS | |
|---|---|
| trang | white |
| white | |
| sac hong cam cam-churong |
pink |
| black | |
| vang | yellow |
| nhur chu | gray |
| sac xanh sac lam |
blue |
| tim | violet |
| purple | |
| purple red | |
| mau nau | brown |
| xanh | green |
| NUMBERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| one | mot | |
| two | hai | |
| three | ba | |
| four | bon | |
| five | nam | |
| six | sau | |
| seven | bay | |
| eight | tam | |
| nine | chin | |
| ten | muroi | |
Some names for administrative entities and for attributes are:
| ADMINISTRATIVE ENTITIES | |
|---|---|
| quoc | nation |
| thu do | provincial capital |
Some city names:
| CITY NAMES | |
|---|---|
| Ha Noi | "mother water" or "inside (the bend) in the river" |
| Cam Ranh | "orange border" |
| Tanh Hoa | "proud flower" |
| Haiphong | "up to the ocean" |
| Nha Trang | "easy thing" |
| Ninh Binh | "curfew peace" |
| Ha Tinh | "clear water" |
| Bien Hoa | "peaceful border" |
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