General
The following is based on analysis of dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome. Malaysian names are now being updated. For consistency, Vietnamese bird names (except for ducks and chickens) are preceded by the word Chim meaning 'bird'. Ornithological lists mostly omit this as understood. Hover over Green Lettering to see additional information.
The Vietnamese word for 'sparrow' is Chim sẻ, which is probably an onomatopoeic name. Unmodified, it refers to Passer montanus, which is the common local sparrow. P. montanus also has a number of local variant names: Chim sẻ sẻ (Central dialects), Chim se sẻ (Central and Southern dialects), Chim ri (Southern dialects), and Chim thẻ (Northern dialects).
Apart from the sparrows, Chim sẻ is also used in the names of the bushchats and some buntings and finches
CULTURAL
Vietnamese has the expression Chim sẻ nhờ nương, sơn dương nhờ núi, meaning 'the sparrow has recourse to the fields, the antelope has recourse to the mountains', an expression of emotional attachment to one's native place.
Chữ Nôm
Characters used to write 'sparrow' in the now obsolete Chữ Nôm characters include:
| Name | Chữ Nôm Images from the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation dictionary. (Errors are the sole responsibility of the author of this site) |
| Sẻ |  ,  ,  |
All are actual characters in Chinese, although neither 𪀆 nor 䲧 is listed in even large dictionaries and neither appears to have a clearly identifiable meaning.
Species names
SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN |
VIETNAMESE |
EAST ASIAN |
S. E. ASIAN |
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| Passer | ||||||||
Latin |
English/French |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
Chinese |
Japanese |
Thai |
Malaysian |
Indonesian |
| Passer cinnamomeus Passer rutilans  |
Russet sparrow Cinnamon sparrow Ruddy sparrow Moineau rutilant |
Chim Sẻ hung 'reddish sparrow (bird)' (12, 13, 34) |
山麻雀 (山麻雀) 'mountain sparrow' Taiwan: (山麻雀) 山麻雀 'mountain sparrow' |
ニュウナイスズメ (入内雀) nyūnai suzume 'enter court sparrow' |
นกกระจอกป่าท้องเหลือง nók krà-còaak pàa tʰóaaŋ-lĕuaŋ 'yellow-bellied forest-sparrow (bird)' |
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| Passer flaveolus |
Plain-backed sparrow Pegu house sparrow Moineau flavéole |
Chim Sẻ bụi vàng 'yellow bush sparrow (bird)' (cf the chats, genus Saxicola) (12) Chim Sẻ bụng vàng 'yellow- bellied sparrow (bird)' (34) |
黄腹麻雀 (黄腹麻雀) 'yellow-bellied sparrow' |
セアカスズメ (背赤雀) se-aka suzume 'red-backed sparrow' |
นกกระจอกตาล nók krà-còaak taan 'brown sparrow (bird)' |
Burung Ciak Sawah 'wetfield sparrow (bird)' (onomat.) (26, 27) Burung Ciak Arnab 'rabbit sparrow (bird)' (onomat.) (24) |
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| Passer montanus |
Eurasian tree sparrow Tree sparrow Moineau friquet |
Chim Sẻ 'sparrow (bird)' (12, 13, 34) |
Sẻ sẻ 'sparrow' (Central dialects) Se sẻ 'sparrow' (Central and Southern dialects) Chim ri 'sparrow' (Southern dialects) Chim thẻ 'sparrow' (Northern dialects) |
麻雀 (麻雀) 'sparrow' or 树麻雀 (樹麻雀) 'tree sparrow' (alt in 1, 3) Taiwan: (麻雀) 麻雀 'sparrow' |
スズメ (雀) suzume 'sparrow' |
นกกระจอกบ้าน nók krà-còaak bâan 'house sparrow (bird)' |
Burung Ciak Rumah 'house sparrrow bird' (onomat.) (26, 27) Burung Ciak Urasia 'Eurasian sparrow bird' (onomat.) (24) |
Burung-gereja Erasia 'Eurasian church-bird' |
Floating Menu by Milonic |
Tool tips by Walter Zorn |
