hầy

Nói nghe hay hầy?

You really are just saying anything huh?

Vậy chứ món đó cũng đâu mắc lắm đâu hầy.

When you think about it, that stuff is actually not that expensive, no?

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) Sentence-final question particle.


chu choa

[t͡ɕu˧˧ t͡ɕwaː˧˧]

[t͡ɕʊw˧˧ t͡ɕwaː˧˧]

[cʊw˧˧ c⁽ʷ⁾aː˧˧]

Chu choa mạ ơi!

(chiefly Central Vietnam, humorous in Northern Vietnam and Southern Vietnam) an interjection of surprise and amazement; Oh my God!; Oh my!


dơ hì

[zəː˧˧ hi˨˩]

[jəː˧˧ hɪj˦˩]

[jəː˧˧ hɪj˨˩]

dơ hầy

with diphthongization of the second morpheme

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam, colloquial) very dirty


rượu đế

[ziəw˧˨ʔ ʔɗe˧˦]

[ʐɨəw˨˩ʔ ʔɗej˨˩˦]

[ɹɨəw˨˩˨ ʔɗej˦˥]

rượu (“wine, liquor, drink, alcohol”) + đế (“kans grass”). Originated during the early period of French colonization of Vietnam, were the government allowed only one type of alcoholic beverage for consumption. Unsatisfied with that condition, the Vietnamese resorted to distilling their own liquor and hid it behind tall grass called cỏ tranh (cogon grass), or another kind of grass called đế (kans grass).

com

(Southern Vietnam) a distilled liquor from Vietnam, made of either glutinous or non-glutinous rice


hổm rày

(Southern Vietnam) "from then till now"; these days


dầy

Northern Vietnam and Southern Vietnam form of dày


nón len

[nɔn˧˦ lɛn˧˧]

[nɔŋ˦˧˥ lɛŋ˧˧]

[nɔŋ˦˥ lɛŋ˧˧]


lục lăng

[lʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ laŋ˧˧]

[lʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ laŋ˧˧]

[lʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨ laŋ˧˧]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-lục lăng.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 六 (“six”) and 棱 (“arris, edge, corner”).

vi-etym-sino

(slang, obsolete, Southern Vietnam) a gangster, an homeless guy who causes trouble


lục lăng

[lʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ laŋ˧˧]

[lʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ laŋ˧˧]

[lʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨ laŋ˧˧]

(slang, obsolete, Southern Vietnam) aggressive, stubborn, tameless


nước lèo

[nɨək̚˧˦ lɛw˨˩]

[nɨək̚˦˧˥ lɛw˦˩]

[nɨək̚˦˥ lɛw˨˩]

(Southern Vietnam, cooking) broth, esp. used for pouring over noodles


kiếng cận

[kiəŋ˧˦ kən˧˨ʔ]

[kiəŋ˦˧˥ kəŋ˨˩ʔ]

[kiəŋ˦˥ kəŋ˨˩˨]


tủ kiếng

[tu˧˩ kiəŋ˧˦]

[tʊw˧˨ kiəŋ˦˧˥]

[tʊw˨˩˦ kiəŋ˦˥]


lẹ làng

[lɛ˧˨ʔ laːŋ˨˩]

[lɛ˨˩ʔ laːŋ˦˩]

[lɛ˨˩˨ laːŋ˨˩]


dẫy

Northern Vietnam and Southern Vietnam form of dãy


chụp hình

[t͡ɕup̚˧˨ʔ hïŋ˨˩]

[t͡ɕup̚˨˩ʔ hɨn˦˩]

[cʊp̚˨˩˨ hɨn˨˩]

Anh chị em mình cùng chụp hình kỉ niệm nhé!

(Southern Vietnam) to photograph; to take a photo


vô phước

[vo˧˧ fɨək̚˧˦]

[vow˧˧ fɨək̚˦˧˥]

[vow˧˧ fɨək̚˦˥]

[jow˧˧ fɨək̚˦˥]


quợn

quợn bụng

having a hard time dealing with the content in the stomach

(Southern Vietnam, colloquial, of stomach) uneasy, as similar to urge to vomit


quợn

(Southern Vietnam, colloquial) to fear; to be scared


ráng sức

[zaːŋ˧˦ sɨk̚˧˦]

[ʐaːŋ˦˧˥ ʂɨk̚˦˧˥]

[ʐaːŋ˦˧˥ sɨk̚˦˧˥]

[ɹaːŋ˦˥ ʂɨk̚˦˥]

[ɹaːŋ˦˥ sɨk̚˦˥]

(Southern Vietnam) to try hard; to strain; to endeavor


mận bắc

cây (classifier)
trái (classifier)
quả (classifier)

[mən˧˨ʔ ʔɓak̚˧˦]

[məŋ˨˩ʔ ʔɓak̚˦˧˥]

[məŋ˨˩˨ ʔɓak̚˦˥]

mận (“plum”) + bắc (“North”), so named because within Vietnam, it is only grown in the Northern region.

(Southern Vietnam) Prunus salicina, the Chinese plum or Japanese plum


miết

(Southern Vietnam) uninterruptedly; without a break; continuously


bánh đúc

[ʔɓajŋ̟˧˦ ʔɗʊwk͡p̚˧˦]

[ʔɓɛɲ˦˧˥ ʔɗʊwk͡p̚˦˧˥]

[ʔɓan˦˥ ʔɗʊwk͡p̚˦˥]

Pandanus amaryllifolius
Pandanus amaryllifolius#Translingual

(Southern Vietnam) Vietnamese rice cake made from non-glutinous rice flour. It takes the form of gelatinous blocks that are often colored green by the addition of Pandanus amaryllifolius leaf extract.


trèo cao té đau

[t͡ɕɛw˨˩ kaːw˧˧ tɛ˧˦ ʔɗaw˧˧]

[ʈɛw˦˩ kaːw˧˧ tɛ˨˩˦ ʔɗaw˧˧]

[ʈɛw˨˩ kaːw˧˧ tɛ˦˥ ʔɗa(ː)w˧˧]

Mày đừng có trèo cao té đau, tao sẽ đá mày xuống mà không cần nhìn lại.

Don't you dare climb high and fall hard, I will kick you down and not look back.

(Southern Vietnam) the higher you climb, the harder/further you fall


ngãi lới

[ŋaːj˦ˀ˥ ləːj˧˦]

[ŋaːj˧˨ ləːj˨˩˦]

[ŋaːj˨˩˦ ləːj˦˥]

While ngãi was common, the reading lới for 理 (MC liX) was very rare; in fact, this seems to be the only compound where lới occurred (unless the element in mánh lới is the same).
This word is attested as ngãi lới in the Dictionarium anamitico-latinum (both in the 1772 manuscript and the 1838 version) and as ngải lới in Như Tây nhựt trình (1889). It is completely obsolete, being replaced by the Northern nghĩa lí.

Đặng mà học, cho rành ngải lới,
Kẻo chưa thông, thấu tới bật cao.

1889, Trương Minh Ký, Như Tây nhựt trình:

So they could learn, to know what is right,
In case they had not understood things in depth.

(obsolete) Southern Vietnam form of nghĩa lí


bang bang

[ʔɓaːŋ˧˧ ʔɓaːŋ˧˧]

[ʔɓaːŋ˧˧ ʔɓaːŋ˧˧]

[ʔɓaːŋ˧˧ ʔɓaːŋ˧˧]

Trưa trời trưa trật làm gì đi bang bang ngoài đường vậy ông nội?

It's high noon, what are you doing going around looking like you don't have a care for this world?

(Southern Vietnam) without caring about one's environment or surrounding


xáp lá cà

[saːp̚˧˦ laː˧˦ kaː˨˩]

[saːp̚˦˧˥ laː˨˩˦ kaː˦˩]

[saːp̚˦˥ laː˦˥ kaː˨˩]

Central Vietnam and Southern Vietnam form of giáp lá cà (“close-quarter combat”)


tức cười

[tɨk̚˧˦ kɨəj˨˩]

[tɨk̚˦˧˥ kɨj˦˩]

[tɨk̚˦˥ kɨj˨˩]


coi bộ

[kɔj˧˧ ʔɓo˧˨ʔ]

[kɔj˧˧ ʔɓow˨˩ʔ]

[kɔj˧˧ ʔɓow˨˩˨]

coi (“to look”) + bộ (“bearing, appearance”).

com

Near-synonym: có vẻ

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam, colloquial) to seem


giạ

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) a kind of bushel for measuring grains or beans.


đồn đột

[ʔɗon˨˩ ʔɗot̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗoŋ˦˩ ʔɗok̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗoŋ˨˩ ʔɗok̚˨˩˨]

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) sea cucumber


lỗ tai cây

[lo˦ˀ˥ taːj˧˧ kəj˧˧]

lỗ tai (“ear canal”) + cây (“tree”), i.e. "tree ears", which of course do not exist, as opposed to normal functional human ears.

Mày lỗ tai cây hay gì mà kêu ba bốn tiếng chưa trả lời?

Are your ears decorations? How come you showed no acknowledgement although I've called for you several times already?

(Southern Vietnam, derogatory) ears merely for show


Thế Tôn

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 世宗 (SV: Thế Tông). See tôn giáo.

der

SV: <i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">Thế Tông</i>

vi-etym-sino

(historical, Southern Vietnam) Misconstruction of Thế Tông (a temple name)


ốm nhom

[ʔom˧˦ ɲɔm˧˧]

[ʔom˦˧˥ ɲɔm˧˧]

[ʔom˦˥ ɲɔm˧˧]

Bà Dursley thì ốm nhom, tóc vàng, với một cái cổ dài gấp đôi bình thường […]

2017, J. K. Rowling, chapter 1, in Lý Lan, transl., Harry Potter Và Hòn Đá Phù Thủy [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone], 29 edition, volume 1, Ho Chi Minh City: Nhà xuất bản Trẻ, →ISBN, →OCLC:

Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck […]

(Southern Vietnam) as thin as a lath; very thin or skinny


trốt

cơn (classifier)
con (classifier)
卒 (CJK)
啐 (CJK)
律 (CJK)


mất tiêu

[mət̚˧˦ tiəw˧˧]

[mək̚˦˧˥ tiw˧˧]

Ủa, chia khoá mất tiêu đâu rồi?

(Southern Vietnam, Central Vietnam, colloquial) to vanish


mội

Mội nước khoáng trị bệnh nằm tại Phú Ninh, được nhà máy nạp chai, có khả năng dùng (giới hạn) cho cả tỉnh Quảng Nam, [...]

2009, Trần Kim Thạch, Khu kinh tế mở Chu Lai: Một lối vào thế kỷ 21 của Việt Nam [Chu Lai Open Economic Zone: A path towards the 21st century for Vietnam], Ho Chi Minh City: Nhà xuất bản Trẻ, page 101:

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) subterranean spring or stream


tụi tui

(Southern Vietnam, between speakers of equal social status) we/us (exclusive)


cắc củm

head

cắc củm (‑a reduplication cắc ca cắc củm)

[kak̚˦˥ kʊm˨˩˦]

(Southern Vietnam) to economise; to spend sparingly


thứ thiệt

[tʰɨ˧˦ tʰiət̚˧˨ʔ]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ tʰiək̚˨˩ʔ]

[tʰɨ˦˥ tʰiək̚˨˩˨]

thứ (“thing, kind”) + thiệt (“real”). Semantically parallels that of English real deal and real thing.

(Southern Vietnam, colloquial) true; real; authentic


chà bá

[t͡ɕaː˨˩ ʔɓaː˧˦]

[t͡ɕaː˦˩ ʔɓaː˨˩˦]

[caː˨˩ ʔɓaː˦˥]

(Southern Vietnam) humongously; enormously


o mèo

[ʔɔ˧˧ mɛw˨˩]

[ʔɔ˧˧ mɛw˦˩]

[ʔɔ˧˧ mɛw˨˩]

o + mèo. The second element is probably a calque of Chinese 媌 (miáo).

Ba má bày đặt cho anh
Áo bà ba may hai cái túi đựng dầu chanh o mèo.

(rare, Southern Vietnam) to flirt (with girls)


đĩ ngựa

[ʔɗi˦ˀ˥ ŋɨə˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗɪj˧˨ ŋɨə˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗɪj˨˩˦ ŋɨə˨˩˨]

Attested in Génibrel's Dictionnaire Annamite-Français, where this is glossed as "poissarde (“vulgar (f[eminine]) (insult)”)".
From đĩ + ngựa, see each entry for etymologies.

(vulgar, derogatory, Southern Vietnam) a vulgar, crass woman

(vulgar, derogatory, Southern Vietnam) a sexually promiscuous, morally loose woman