Hán văn (漢文)

Vietnamese Hán văn (Sino-reading)

Sinitic (Sino-Vietnamese pedagogical reading of Literary Chinese) · historical / hidden variety

FamilySinitic (Sino-Vietnamese pedagogical reading of Literary Chinese) SpeakersActive scholarly/pedagogical use in Vietnamese Han-Nôm studies; no native speaker community ScriptChinese characters (Han-tự, 漢字) CountriesVietnam (historically); modern Han-Nôm scholarship worldwide Official inVietnamese dynastic courts (Lý, Trần, Lê, Nguyễn dynasties) until 1919 abolition of civil-service exams Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3lzh

Vietnamese Hán văn (漢文) is the Vietnamese pedagogical reading tradition for Classical Chinese (Literary Chinese, lzh) texts, using Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation (âm Hán Việt). The third major East Asian Sino-reading tradition alongside Japanese kanbun (ja_kanbun), Korean hanmun, and Cantonese pedagogical reading (zh_wenyan_edu). Distinct from chữ Nôm (vi_nom, the demotic Vietnamese script for native Vietnamese morphemes) — Hán văn reads Chinese characters in Classical Chinese order with Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, not Vietnamese morphology. Sino-Vietnamese readings preserve more Middle Chinese-derived phonology than modern Mandarin: 6 tones, stop finals -p/-t/-k, nasal final -m. The system of Confucian education in Vietnam from the 11th-century Văn Miếu Quốc Tử Giám (Temple of Literature) until the 1919 abolition of imperial examinations; survives in modern Han-Nôm scholarly tradition.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Vietnamese Hán văn (Sino-reading)

Water

/tʰwi˧˩˧/

Fire

/hwa˧˩˧/

Sun

/ɲət˨˩/

Moon

/ŋwiət˨˩/

Mother

/məw˧˥/

Father

/fu˨˩˨/

Eat

/tʰɨk˨˩/

Drink

/əm˧˩˧/

Love

/ai˧˥/

Heart

/təm˧˧/

Tree

/mok˨˩/

House

/ok˧˥/

Dog

/xwien˧˩˧/

Cat

/miew˧˧/

Hand

/tʰu˧˩˧/

Eye

/muk˨˩/

Hello

萬福

/vən˨˩ fuk˨˩/

Thank you

/ta˨˩˨/

One

/ɲət˧˥/

Good

/tʰien˨˩˨/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Sino-Vietnamese pedagogical reading of Literary Chinese) languages

Meaning Vietnamese Hán văn (Sino-reading)Chinese (Classical)HainaneseTianjin MandarinClassical Chinese (Cantonese pedagogical)Gaozhou YueGan (Jiangxi)
Water /tʰwi˧˩˧/ /ɕy˧˩˧/ /zui˨˩˧/ /ʂwei˨˩˧/ /sɵy˧˥/ /sɵi˧˥/ /sui˨˩˧/
Fire /hwa˧˩˧/ /xwo˧˩˧/ /hə˨˩˧/ /xwo˨˩˧/ /fɔ˧˥/ /fɔ˧˥/ /fo˨˩˧/
Sun /ɲət˨˩/ /ʐi˥˩/ 日头 /dit˨˨tʰau˨˦/ 日头 /ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/ /jɐt˨/ 日头 /jɐt˨tʰɐu˧˧/ 日头 /ɲit˥tʰɛu/
Moon /ŋwiət˨˩/ /ɥɛ˥˩/ /ŋet˨˨/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/ /jyt˨/ 月光 /jyt˨kwɔŋ˥˥/ 月光 /ŋyot˥kuɔŋ˦˨/
Mother /məw˧˥/ /mu˧˩˧/ /bo˨˩˧/ /ma˩˩/ /mou˩˧/ 妈妈 /maː˥˥maː˥˥/ 妈妈 /ma˦˨ma/
Father /fu˨˩˨/ /fu˥˩/ /ba˨˨/ /pa˥˩/ /fu˨/ 爸爸 /paː˨˩paː˨˩/ 爸爸 /pa˥pa/
Eat /tʰɨk˨˩/ /ʂʐ˧˥/ /tʰeʔ˥˥/ /tʂʰɨ˩˩/ /sɪk˨/ /sɪk˨˨/ /t͡ɕʰiat˥/
Drink /əm˧˩˧/ /jin˧˩˧/ /lim˨˦/ /xɤ˩˩/ /jɐm˧˥/ /jɐm˧˥/ /hot˥/
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