Dong

Dong is a romanization that appears in several languages and contexts. It can refer to currency, an ethnic group, geographic names, or linguistic terms, among other uses. Because of this, it is often helpful to distinguish the specific sense being discussed.

The Vietnamese đồng is the official currency of Vietnam. It is abbreviated as VND and uses the symbol ₫. Historically it was subdivided into smaller units such as hào and xu, but these subunits are no longer used in everyday transactions. The đồng forms the basis of modern Vietnamese monetary transactions and pricing.

The Dong people are an ethnic minority in China, also known as the Kam. They speak the Dong language and are recognized for distinctive cultural practices, including traditional crafts and architecture such as drum towers and wind-and-rrain bridges. The Dong population is concentrated mainly in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan provinces.

In linguistic terms, dong is a syllable that occurs across several East Asian languages. In Chinese, the character dōng means “east” and is common in place names and compounds. In Korean, dong denotes a neighborhood or district within a city. In Vietnamese, Đông means “east” and appears in personal names and toponyms.

Dong can also be a surname or given name in various East Asian cultures, reflecting its use as a transliteration of multiple names and characters, including Chinese and Vietnamese surnames. As such, the meaning of Dong depends heavily on context.