General names
The following is based on analysis of dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections are welcome.
Note on Vietnamese naming: With the exception of ducks and chickens, it is common for Vietnamese bird names to be preceded by the word Chim meaning 'bird', although it is normally omitted in Vietnamese bird lists. All bird names, whether they include chim or not, can be preceded by the classifier con, which is used for living creatures.
Apart from the domesticated pigeon (Rock Dove), a variety of wild pigeons and doves is found in Vietnam and the language is relatively rich in names for them.
Chim bồ câu, Chim bồ cu, or Chim câu is the normal term for the domesticated pigeon or Rock Dove, and by extension is now the general word for 'pigeon'. In the lists below it is glossed simply as 'pigeon'. Despite a similarity to Chinese 鵓鴿 'pigeon' and 鵓鴣 'wood-pigeon', it's not clear whether bồ câu is etymologically related to either of these. 鵓鴿 would normally be read in Vietnamese as bột cáp (Cantonese ), 鵓鴣 as bột cô (Cantonese ), but other routes of borrowing than character readings should not be altogether ruled out.
Chim gầm ghì, Chim gầm ghị, or Chim cu gầm ghì is another, probably older, Vietnamese word for the pigeons. It is now used mainly for the Cuckoo Doves and Imperial Pigeons, and also officially for the domesticated pigeon. This name is also glossed 'pigeon' in the lists below.
Chim cu, which is likely onomatopoeic, is a term officially used for Turtle Doves and Emerald Doves. (In some Central dialects this is reduplicated as Chim cu cu, which in standard usage refers to cuckoos.) Cu may be used in combination with other names (see below). In the lists it is glossed as 'dove'.
Chim chàng vịt is given in some dictionaries as a term for 'pigeon' or 'dove'.
Turtle Doves have a number of individual names:
The Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) is known as the Chim sen 'lotus-bird' (from its soft pinkish colour), Chim cu sen 'lotus dove bird', Chim cu đất 'ground dove bird' , or Chim cu cu đất 'ground dove bird' (dialect).
The Spotted-necked Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) is known as the Chim gáy 'calling bird', Chim cu gáy 'calling dove bird', Chim cu gấm 'spotted dove bird', or Chim cu cườm 'beaded dove bird'.
The Red Turtle Dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica) is known as the Chim ngói 'tile bird' (from the terracotta colour of tiles), Chim cu ngói 'tile dove bird', or Chim cu lửa 'fire dove bird' (dialect). Chim bồ câu lửa 'fire pigeon bird' is possibly also applied to this species.
Naturalists assign names to columbid genera as follows:
| Vietnamese name | Genera |
| Bồ câu | Pale-capped Pigeon (Columba punicea) Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas) |
| Gầm ghì | Rock Dove (Columba livia) Cuckoo Doves (Macropygia) Imperial Pigeons (Ducula) |
| Cu | Turtle Doves (Streptopelia) Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps) |
| Cu xanh 'blue/green cu' |
Green Pigeons (Treron) |
Despite the familiar use of Chim bồ câu to refer to the domesticated pigeon (or Rock Dove), and the fact that Bồ câu thus gives its name to the family, naturalists somewhat surprisingly use the name Bồ câu for Columba punicea but not for Columba livia (Rock Dove) itself.
The carrier pigeon is known in Vietnamese as: Bồ câu đưa thư 'deliver message pigeon'.
Chữ Nôm
Characters used for columbids 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) |
| Bồ câu |   ;   ;  and other combinations of these characters |
Species names
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