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gia
/jaː˧˧/
family
Gia đình tôi có bốn người.
My family has four people.
formal
Family; household; members of a family collectively.
Gia đình anh ấy sống ở Hà Nội.
His family lives in Hanoi.
Chúng tôi là gia đình thân thiết.
We are a close-knit family.
Used to refer to one's immediate or extended family. Often appears in compound words like gia đình (family), gia tộc (clan), gia sư (tutor, from family teacher).
formal
Household; domestic unit.
Thu nhập của gia đình tôi khá ổn định.
My household income is quite stable.
Refers to the collective economic unit of a family.
literary
To marry into a family; to become part of a family through marriage.
Cô ấy gia vào dòng họ chồng.
She married into her husband's family.
Rare usage; more common in classical Vietnamese.
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Compound Word Builder
‘Gia’ is a productive morpheme in Vietnamese. Memorize common compounds like gia đình (family), gia sư (tutor), and gia sản (family property) to expand your vocabulary efficiently.
Gold Rule
Bound Morpheme Rule
‘Gia’ is rarely used alone in modern Vietnamese. It almost always combines with another morpheme (e.g., ‘đình’ in gia đình) to form a meaningful word.
Word Origin
From Old Chinese 家 (OC *kraː, ‘family, household’), via Sino-Vietnamese. Cognate with Chinese 家 (jiā) and Japanese 家 (か, ka).
Usage Notes
‘Gia’ is a bound morpheme in modern Vietnamese, almost always appearing in compound words (e.g., gia đình, gia sư). As a standalone word, it is rare and mostly literary or formal. In daily speech, ‘gia đình’ is the standard term for ‘family.’
Word Breakdown
gia
family/household
rootđình
hall/temple
suffixTừ Điển Việt Anh