Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tonkin

/tˈɑŋkɪn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English

Syllables: tonkin
IPA: /tˈɑŋkɪn/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A surname transferred from the given name.

name

Synonym of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

Archaic

name

A former domain in northern Vietnam.

name

A former protectorate in northern Vietnam, a colony of France.

name

Ellipsis of the Gulf of Tonkin: a gulf in northern Vietnam.

name

Ellipsis of Gulf of Tonkin incident, a 1964 event used to increase US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Etymology

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: Tonkin, Đông Kinh, 東京

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

Tonkins (plural) Tonquin (alternative) Tong-King (alternative)

Derived Forms

Tonkinese

Phrases

Gulf of Tonkin Tonkin pit viper Tonkin toad

Synonyms

Hanoi Đàng Ngoài Bắc Kỳ

Questions

How do you pronounce tonkin?: The recorded pronunciation is /tˈɑŋkɪn/.
What does tonkin mean?: A surname transferred from the given name.
Where does tonkin come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce tonkin

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tonkin”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tˈɑŋkɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tonkin”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tonkin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.