may

head

𢆧, 埋, 𱜿, 𱝁, 枚, 𠶣

vi-adj

𢆧, 埋, 𱜿, 𱝁, 枚, 𠶣

𢆧 (CJK)
埋 (CJK)
𱜿 (CJK)
𱝁 (CJK)
枚 (CJK)
𠶣 (CJK)


the

having a strong and fragrant smell or flavor, usually overlaps with what described as "minty" or "citrusy" in English


in

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-in.wav


say

From Proto-Vietic *p-riː (“drunk”); cognate with Muong khay, Arem pərɪː.

say tàu/xe/sóng

say tình

(literary) engrossed, especially in love


be

chiếc áo mưa màu be


qua

Sino-Vietnamese word from 過 (“pass”). Doublet of quá.

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-qua.wav

Đêm qua chớp bể mưa nguồn, hỏi người quân tử có buồn hay không?

Xuân này hơn hẳn mấy xuân qua.

1968, Ho Chi Minh, Thơ chúc Tết Mậu Thân:

This year is better than many years past.


non

From Proto-Vietic *k-nɔːn, from *k-rn-ɔːn, which Ferlus considered an infixed derivation of Proto-Vietic *kɔːn (“child”). Cognate with Chut [Rục] kunɔːn¹, Semai kenon (“child”), Juang kɔnɔn ("child, son, the young one; young"), Khmu [Cuang] krnɔːn ("uterus"). Likely received some semantic influence from 嫩 (MC nwonH) (SV: nộn) as well.


om

Trời tối om.

pitch-dark; pitch-black; very much (esp. dark)


son

head

侖, 倫, 崙, 󱏟, 󰅬, 𣗾, 𣘈, 𪳔, 𧹪, 𪿽, 󱠟

vi-adj

侖, 倫, 崙, 󱏟, 󰅬, 𣗾, 𣘈, 𪳔, 𧹪, 𪿽, 󱠟

侖 (CJK)
倫 (CJK)
崙 (CJK)
𣗾 (CJK)
𣘈 (CJK)
𪳔 (CJK)
𧹪 (CJK)
𪿽 (CJK)

This word had initial *k-r- in Old Vietnamese.

rệp son


to

Compare Thai โต (dtoo), Lao ໂຕ (tō), Lü ᦷᦎ (ṫo).


lam

Sino-Vietnamese word from 藍, from Literary Chinese 藍 (lán), using the same disambiguation of 青 (“grue”) with 藍／蓝 (lán, “blue”) and 綠／绿 (lục, “green”). See also xanh (“grue”).


hay

Cognate with Arem hɪː ("to understand").

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,[…]

1914 [c. 5th century CE], “Kinh tin-kính [Apostles' Creed]”, in Edmond Nordemann, compiler, Chrestomathie annamite, translation of Symbolum Apostolorum (in Latin), page 152:

I believe in God, the Father All Capable, Creator of heaven and earth, […]


hay

ý hay

Phim hay quá ha !

good, as in useful, inventive, interesting or entertaining; compare tốt (good as in high-quality, skillful or ethical)


so

con so

chửa con so

trứng gà so

a chicken's first egg (usually a small egg)


hung

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 紅 (SV: hồng)


爽快

chữ Hán form of sảng khoái (“refreshing”).


ba

From Proto-Vietic *paː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *piʔ. Cognate with Muong pa, Khmer បី (bəy), Halang pe, Pacoh pe, Mon ပိ, Santali ᱯᱮ (pe).

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-ba.wav

anh/chị ba

bác ba

second eldest brother/sister of one's parent

chú ba

secondborn younger brother of one's father

(Southern Vietnam, of a sibling) secondborn


sang

head

郎, 𢀨, 󱮶, 󱞻, 廊, 朗

vi-adj

郎, 𢀨, 󱮶, 󱞻, 廊, 朗

𢀨共庫𪽝蒸𡗶
吝木爫之朱辱唏

15th century, Nguyễn Trãi, “Ngôn chí 言志 9”, in Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集):

[To be born into] Wealth or poverty are both at heaven's whims;
It is just wasting one's breath to try and alter it.

Sang cùng khó bởi chưng trời,
Lặn mọc làm chi cho nhọc hơi.


lem

Cô Bé Lọ Lem

Cinderella (literally, “The Soot-smeared Girl”)


人造

chữ Hán form of nhân tạo (“artificial, man-made”).


long

răng long


京

chữ Hán form of Kinh (“ethnically Vietnamese”).


全

chữ Hán form of toàn (“all; everything; everybody; entire; whole”).


初

chữ Hán form of sơ (“in the initial stage; primary; elementary”).


han

chiếc nồi đồng han xanh


時

chữ Hán form of thời (“now; presently; nowadays; at that time; at that moment”).


熤

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声): semantic 火 + phonetic 翌 (dực).


確

chữ Hán form of xác (“durable; strong; solid; firm”).


義

chữ Hán form of nghĩa.
(archaic) adoptive


艚

(often derogatory) Nôm form of Tàu (“Chinese”).


聖

chữ Hán form of thánh (“holy, saint, sacred”).


ham

ham chơi

(disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around


ta

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 咱 (“I; me, we; us”, SV: cha).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Tết ta

(informal) "our", Vietnamese, as opposed to Tây (“Western”), Tàu (“Chinese”) or Xiêm (“Siamese”)


em

From Proto-Vietic *ʔɛːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(sʔ)iəm; cognate with Pacoh a-em (“younger sibling”).
According to Phan Kế Bính's Việt Nam phong tục (1915), apparently the practice of calling each other anh-em for those in relationship originated from the province of Quảng Nam:
1915, Phan Kế Bính, Việt Nam phong tục [Vietnamese customs]:
— Vợ chồng con nhà sang trọng, gọi nhau bằng cậu mợ, thầy thông thầy phán thì gọi nhau bằng thầy cô, nhà thường thì gọi nhau bằng anh chị. Có con rồi thì gọi nhau bằng thầy em đẻ em, nhà thô tục thì gọi nhau là bố cu mẹ đĩ, có người thì gọi bố nó mẹ nó, có người cả hai vợ chồng gọi lẫn nhau là nhà ta. Ở Quảng-Nam thì vợ gọi chồng là anh, chồng gọi vợ là em. Ở Nghệ Tĩnh vợ chồng gọi là gấy nhông.
Spouses from wealthy families tend to call each other cậu and mợ; those employed by the government prefer thầy and cô; while in an average household, they call each other anh and chị. Couples with children call each other thầy em [father of the little one] and đẻ em [mother of the little one], while those from low-born families use bố cu and mẹ đĩ; there are also those who say bố nó and mẹ nó and those who both call each other nhà ta. In Quảng Nam, a housewife would call her husband anh and a husband would call his wife em. In Nghệ Tĩnh, "husband and wife" is called gấy nhông.

quote-book

Việt Nam phong tục

Spouses from wealthy families tend to call each other cậu and mợ; those employed by the government prefer thầy and cô; while in an average household, they call each other anh and chị. Couples with children call each other thầy em 􂀿father of the little one􂁀 and đẻ em 􂀿mother of the little one􂁀, while those from low-born families use bố cu and mẹ đĩ; there are also those who say bố nó and mẹ nó and those who both call each other nhà ta. In Quảng Nam, a housewife would call her husband anh and a husband would call his wife em. In Nghệ Tĩnh, "husband and wife" is called gấy nhông.


nhanh

head

𨘱 - 𪬭, 𨗜, 𠴌, 速, 伶

vi-adj

𨘱 - 𪬭, 𨗜, 𠴌, 速, 伶

From Proto-Vietic *m-laɲ (“fast, quick”); cognates include Muong nhanh, Chut lanh. See also lanh. Trần (2013) proposes that ma-lanh is also a cognate.

Nó nhanh lắm.


au

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-au.wav


thánh

Sino-Vietnamese word from 聖.
The informal adjectival sense "naive, credulous, gullible" and nominal sense "idiot, moron, simpleton" likely semantically develop from senses "saintly" and "saint" respectively, thus paralleling silly and crétin each in that order; see those entries for etymologies and semantic developments.

nước thánh

Mày thánh quá! Nghĩ sao đứa ngu như nó mà làm được bài này!?

How silly you are! How can you think that an idiot like him/her could finish this assignment!?

(Southern Vietnam, informal) naive, credulous, gullible, daft, silly


thành

(only in compounds and idioms) successful


thành

(tấm) lòng thành

(chiefly in set phrases) sincere; honest; truthful


Gia Nã Đại

[zaː˧˧ naː˦ˀ˥ ʔɗaːj˧˨ʔ]

[jaː˧˧ naː˧˨ ʔɗaːj˨˩ʔ]

[jaː˧˧ naː˨˩˦ ʔɗaːj˨˩˨]


hai

From Proto-Vietic *haːr, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɓaar (or some variant presented by Proto-Palaungic *ləʔaːr, Khasi ar, Central Nicobarese [Nancowry] âṅ; Shorto reconstructed Pre-Mon-Khmer *biʔaar). Cognate with Muong hal, Khmer ពីរ (pii), Bahnar 'bar, Pacoh bar, Khasi ar, Mon ၜါ, Santali ᱵᱟᱨ (bar).
Insertion of initial *h in Vietic can also be seen in *huːɲ (“to kiss”) (> Vietnamese hôn), *heːt (“finished”) (> Vietnamese hết), *hanʔ (“he, she, it”) (> Vietnamese hắn), *hoːj (“foul-smelling”) (> Vietnamese hôi), *tŋ-ʔaːm (> Vietnamese hàm, Late Vietic), *hɔːŋʔ (“river, brook”), *haːŋʔ (“to open (mouth)”).

anh/chị hai

bác hai

(Southern Vietnam, of a sibling) eldest; firstborn


mau

head

毛, 㕰, 𣭻, 牟, 哞, 󱦰

vi-adj

毛, 㕰, 𣭻, 牟, 哞, 󱦰

Cognate with Muong bau (“dense, thick”), Chut [Cuối Chăm] baw¹ and Arem ubaw ("thick").

(now only in certain phrases and expressions) dense


sai

Sino-Vietnamese word from 差 (“difference; discrepancy”).

vi-etym-sino

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-sai.wav

làm sai

to get something wrong or do something wrong; to err

Làm sai thì phải nhận.

Tao (làm) sai hai câu.

Em biết em sai, mong anh tha thứ.

I know I was wrong / what I did was wrong, please forgive me.

sai số

(of people or things people do) not right, correct or proper; wrong, incorrect, improper, inaccurate, imprecise, erroneous, etc.


sai

sai quả/trái


hoe

khóc nhiều mắt đỏ hoe

to cry so much that the eyes become reddish

tóc hoe hoe


tong

mất tong một buổi chiều mà chẳng tiến triển gì

an afternoon wasted without any significant progress

Mưa. Thế là lại đi tong một ngày mủ vì mưa nữa rồi!

2001, Chu Lai, Cuộc đời dài lắm, NXB Văn học, page 199:

Rain. So yet another day's worth of latex gone to waste because of the rain!


một

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-một.wav

From Proto-Vietic *moːc, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *muuj ~ *muəj ~ *muuɲ. Cognate with Muong mốch, Bahnar mĭnh and mônh, Khmer មួយ (muəy), Mon မွဲ (mòa), Bolyu maːi³¹, Mang mak⁷, Santali ᱢᱤᱫ (mit’).
Related to mốt (“day after tomorrow”).


nay

sáng/trưa/chiều/tối/đêm nay

bữa/hôm nay

Sáng nay ăn sáng chưa?

(of a day or time of day) that is today, or happening today


phải

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-phải.wav

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 被 (“to suffer; passive marker”, SV: bị) (Old Chinese: /*m-pʰ(r)ajʔ, m-pʰ(r)ajʔ-s, mə-pʰ(r)aj, pʰ(r)aj-s/ in Baxter and Sagart (2014), along the semantic evolution of “to have to endure; to suffer” > “have to; must” > “correct” > “right (in direction)”. It may reflect an Old Chinese pronunciation /*N-pʰ(r)ajʔ-s/ with the loss of a nasal prefix as is also seen in other early loans (Sagart, per. comm.).
The common Vietic word for “right” is Proto-Vietic *dam ~ *tam, whence the now-archaic đăm.

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Đi bên phải đường.

Rẽ (tay) phải. Quẹo (tay) phải.

(often with bên) right (side, direction) (in bên phải)

Không phải như thế.

mặt phải của tấm vải


su

nác su

North Central Vietnam form of sâu (“deep”)


tra

The initial is from the distinct North Central shift *C-r- > *C-l-. The tone is also A1 (ngang), not A2 (huyền) like in the mainstream dialects.

North Central Vietnam form of già (“old”)


chai

vết chai

bị chai tay

chai sạn

pin bị chai rồi

the battery's no good anymore (won't hold a charge)


xong

Xong chưa?


cái

From Proto-Vietic *-keːʔ (“woman; female”). Compare gái.
Attested in the title of Phùng Hưng, 布蓋大王 (MC puH kajH dajH hjwang) (SV: Bố Cái Đại Vương), with the first two characters rendering words ancestral to modern vua (“monarch”) and cái ("great, main"), equivalent to the Chinese 大王 next to it, i.e. the title is the phrase "great king/monarch" written in two languages.

hoa cái

nhị cái

(of a non-human and non-avian species of animal or plant or their reproductive organs) female

sông cái

ngón chân cái

(now chiefly in compounds) big, large, main


dai

Thịt gì dai quá, nhai mỏi cả mồm!

This meat's so tough that my jaw's getting tired chewing it!

Cái thằng này dai như đỉa.

(literally, “This guy is as persistent as a leech (which is known to hang tough onto whatever it bites).”)


FA

[ʔɛp̚˧˦ ʔaː˧˧]

[ʔɛp̚˦˧˥ ʔaː˧˧]

[ʔɛp̚˦˥ ʔaː˧˧]


dà

According to S. Tandart, Vietnamese traditionally used the bark of this tree to dye their work clothes, hence the color sense.


lì

ở lì

Bó nẹp rịt thuốc xong, trong đêm không dám về nhà, cứ ở lỳ trong chỉ huy sở doanh Toàn Tiệp.

2005, chapter 2, in Cao Tự Thanh, transl., Anh hùng xạ điêu, Văn học, translation of 射雕英雄传 by Jīn Yōng (Kim Dung):

When he had tightened the medicine, he did not dare return home, so he stayed put in the Quánjié commandery.


lai

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 騾 (“mule”, SV: la, loa).

der

SV: <i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">la, loa</i>

vi-etym-sino

con lai


parky

Euphemism of Bắc Kỳ (“northerner”). Borrowed from English parky (“chilly”) and barky.


mít

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 密 (SV: mật). Compare mịt and Thai มิด (mít).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

(chiefly in compounds) be hermetically closed


mít

Với nó chỉ có hỏi đâu mít đấy.

They're not going to know anything about what you ask.


ri

(now chiefly in compounds, of stature) small; miniature


lang

con bò lang


特性

chữ Hán form of đặc tính (“characteristic; feature; peculiarity; trait”).


già

From Middle Vietnamese già, from Proto-Vietic *k-raː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kraʔ ~ *(k)rah. Cognate with Muong khà, Tho [Cuối Chăm] kʰraː¹, Bahnar kră. Compare also Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh dialects tra.
The standard written Vietnamese form is irregular (the expected form would be **sa), while the North Central form shows the shift from *k-r to *k-l observable in several other instances: compare sâu and trâu (“caterpillar”), sừng and trừng (“horn”). See giòi (“maggot”), giữa (“middle”) for other instances of mainstream Vietnamese ‹gi› from initial *k-r.

nhường bước người già

gà già thịt dai

cây già

(of lifeforms) old; compare cũ (of objects)

mặt già

tìm một chị tiếng già để đóng vai bà lão

to search for a woman with an old voice to voice the role of an old woman (ie. someone whose voice sounds like an old person)

lo nghĩ nhiều nên già trước tuổi

having the characteristics of appearances of an old person although not that old

thầy già

Cậu ta là bạn già của mình.

Chưa đến bốn mươi nhưng đã già tuổi Đảng.

Not even 40 years old but already a Party veteran.

cau già

bầu già

nước nóng già

dọa già dọa non

nước ô-xi già

già một thước

lấy già một đấu


Nhật Bản

[ɲət̚˧˨ʔ ʔɓaːn˧˩]

[ɲək̚˨˩ʔ ʔɓaːŋ˧˨]

[ɲək̚˨˩˨ ʔɓaːŋ˨˩˦]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 日本 (“base of the sun”), from Japanese 日本 (Nippon, Nihon).


bí

(only in compounds) mysterious, secret, unknown


trai

From Proto-Vietic *p-laːl (“man, male”).

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-trai.wav

anh trai

em trai

con trai

cháu trai

bác trai

a man who's presumably slightly older than one's parent

bạn trai

a young male friend / a young boy or man / a boyfriend

(only in fixed expressions, of people) male


cay

head

咳, 荄, 𠹽, 𡀲, 𨐮, 𨢟, 𫐝

vi-adj

咳, 荄, 𠹽, 𡀲, 𨐮, 𨢟, 𫐝

咳 (CJK)
荄 (CJK)
𠹽 (CJK)
𡀲 (CJK)
𨐮 (CJK)
𨢟 (CJK)
𫐝 (CJK)

có vị cay

có mùi cay

cay mắt

having one's eyes irritated as if they were by pepper

(of sensation) hot, spicy, or reminiscent of chili pepper

thua cay

(colloquial) bitter; cynical and resentful


重大

chữ Hán form of trọng đại (“weighty; important; significant; major”).


Phi

Sino-Vietnamese word from 非, as in 非洲 (Fēizhōu). Also seen as a shortening of Phi châu or châu Phi (“Africa”).


Phi

Sino-Vietnamese word from 菲, as in 菲律賓／菲律宾 (Fēilǜbīn). Also seen as a shortening of Phi Luật Tân.


ghi

The colour, color or shade in between white and black: grey or gray.


kia

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 其 (“that; those”, SV: kì). Related to kìa.

der

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

nơi nào. 2 Can be used on its own

where; no longer completely true in the modern language

where; this much; where *C is nonspecific consonant

đâu. 3 From earlier *C-raːw. 4 Placed before the head: bây nhiêu ()

bao nhiêu. 5 Placed after the head: nhanh vầy ()

these demonstratives might have been used to assert that something is visible and

or verifiable. They have been bleached quite thoroughly and currently are usually used like other distal demonstratives. The biggest trace of their evidentiality might be in their usage as final particles

còn những ba cái cầu nữa cơ mà! ()

From there to Hanoi, there're still three more bridges to cross!

Khi ngồi nhìn lên chúng ta nghĩ đó là phía trên, nhìn xuống ta nghĩ đó là phía dưới. Nhưng cùng một lúc đó, đồng loại ta ở phía bên kia địa cầu nhìn sẽ thấy ngược lại.

2009, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Trái tim của Bụt, NXB Tổng hợp TP. Hồ Chí Minh, page 14:

When we are seated and look up, we imagine that is above; looking down we imagine that is below. But at the same time, people at the other side of the world will see it the other way around.

ngày kia

hôm kia

năm kia

(with time expressions) two removed from the present


mun

From Proto-Vietic *ɓuːɲ (“ashes”). Cognate with Muong bunh.


sau

head

婁, 差, 牢, 𡢐, 𢖕, 𢖖, 𨍦

vi-adj

婁, 差, 牢, 𡢐, 𢖕, 𢖖, 𨍦

婁 (CJK)
差 (CJK)
牢 (CJK)
𡢐 (CJK)
𢖕 (CJK)
𢖖 (CJK)
𨍦 (CJK)

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *krawʔ. Cognate with Muong khau, Mon တြဴ.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 牢 (MC law) (modern SV: lao) and 娄, alternative form 婁 (MC luw) (modern SV: lâu).

hai chân sau của con chó

Lần sau đi cửa trước.


nam

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-nam.wav


gan

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-gan.wav

From Proto-Vietic *t-kaːn, from Old Chinese 肝 (OC *s.kˤa[r]) (SV: can). Cognate with Chut [Rục] təkaːn¹ ("bold").
Displaced native lòm, now only found in the compounds đỏ lòm and chua lòm.


tía

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 紫 (“purple”, SV: tử).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-tía.wav


SIDA

[si˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[si˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[sɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[ʂɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[sɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[sɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[ʂɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

[sɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˧˧]

(clothing, of clothes) sold after being used by someone


im

head

㛪, 厭, 奄, 庵, 淹

vi-adj

㛪, 厭, 奄, 庵, 淹

calm; silent; quiet; not talking anymore


意味

chữ Hán form of ý vị (“deeply; profoundly meaningful”).


印象

chữ Hán form of ấn tượng (“impressive”).


普通

chữ Hán form of phổ thông (“common, ordinary”).


非常

chữ Hán form of phi thường (“extraordinary”).


勉強

chữ Hán form of miễn cưỡng (“reluctant”).


新加坡

chữ Hán form of Tân Gia Ba (“(dated) Singaporean”).


統一

chữ Hán form of thống nhất (“united; unified”).


soi

(archaic) accomplished; experienced; well-versed in


特殊

chữ Hán form of đặc thù (“special; particular”).


平方

chữ Hán form of bình phương (“squared”).


ung

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-ung.wav


完全

chữ Hán form of hoàn toàn (“complete; entire; full; perfect”).


não

Sino-Vietnamese word from 惱 (“unhappy”).


不同

chữ Hán form of bất đồng (“different; in disagreement”).


neo

- Tôi nói là nói người khác kia! Chứ ông... nhà neo, lắm việc, tôi có trách gì ông đâu... Kìa các ông ấy đã ra cả kìa!

1937, Ngô Tất Tố, chapter 2, in Tắt đèn:

"It's other people that I talked about! As for you, your family is small and you're always busy, how could I put any blame on you... Oh look, they have come!"


lâng

Only used in lâng lâng (“light-hearted”).


適合

chữ Hán form of thích hợp (“suitable; matching; fitting”).


特別

chữ Hán form of đặc biệt (“special; unusual”).


神聖

chữ Hán form of thần thánh (“sacred; holy”).


神秘

chữ Hán form of thần bí (“mysterious; mystical”).


奇怪

chữ Hán form of kỳ quái (“weird; bizarre”).


複雜

chữ Hán form of phức tạp (“complicated; complex; intricate”).


tanh

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 腥 (“smelling fishy”, SV: tinh).

der

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


kín

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 緊 (SV: khẩn). Compare Shan ၵိၼ်း (kín, “narrow, constricted”).
For some examples of ‹i› in vernacular loans versus ‹â› in standard Sino-Vietnamese, see also phím, kịp, tim, nhịn.

der

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


bón

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) constipated


rong

quầy hàng rong


út

head

út • (崴, 𠃝, 𧰦, 𠃷)

vi-adj

út • (崴, 𠃝, 𧰦, 𠃷)

From Proto-Vietic *ʔuːc.
Compare Chong [Ban Thung Saphan] ʔuːˀc ("few, little").

con út

em út


xa

Sino-Vietnamese word from 賒.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 可耶 (MC khaX yae) (modern SV: khả da), 可賒 (MC khaX syae) (modern SV: khả xa) and 可車 (MC khaX tsyhae) (modern SV: khả xa).
Displaced native ngái in the major dialects.

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-xa.wav

rất gần rất xa


xa

(only in compounds) extravagant, wasteful


nao

head

nao • (孬) (diminutive reduplication nao nao)

孬 (CJK)
nao nao (diminutive reduplication)


捷克

chữ Hán form of Tiệp Khắc (“Czechoslovak”).


強制

chữ Hán form of cưỡng chế (“to coerce”).


最新

chữ Hán form of tối tân (“latest and promising to be cutting-edge”).


平安

chữ Hán form of bình yên (“tranquil; peaceful”).

chữ Hán form of bình an (“tranquil; peaceful”).


dài

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-dài.wav

From Proto-Vietic *jaːr; cognate with Chut [Rục] jəal².


重要

chữ Hán form of trọng yếu (“important”).


全部

chữ Hán form of toàn bộ (“entire, whole”).


vua

Pacoh: vua

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-vua.wav

The Northern Middle Vietnamese form ꞗua (“king”) with lenition is attested in Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.
Compare North Central Vietnamese bua without lenition and the compound phân bua. Compare also Mang pua² and Tai Dam ꪜꪺ, borrowed from an older form of Vietnamese. Cognate with Chut [Mày] tapuo¹ (Babaev & Samarina, 2018).
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 𢃊, composed of 司 (MC si) + 布 (MC puH) (modern SV: tư bố).

mối vua

ong vua


tí

tí • (比, 細, 子)

vi-adj

tí • (比, 細, 子)

Probably borrowed from a dialectal or post-Old Chinese form of Chinese 子 (OC *tsəʔ) (B-S) (SV: tử).


kém

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-kém.wav

Probably non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 減 (SV: giảm).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

kém may mắn


空想

chữ Hán form of không tưởng (“unrealistic; utopian”).


親切

chữ Hán form of thân thiết (“close, familiar”).


mái

gà mái

cá heo mái/cái

(of an animal with cá (“fish”) in its name, including cetaceans) female


永遠

chữ Hán form of vĩnh viễn (“everlasting; long-lasting; permanent; for ever”).


ái

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-ái.wav


thống nhất

[tʰəwŋ͡m˧˦ ɲət̚˧˦]

[tʰəwŋ͡m˦˧˥ ɲək̚˦˧˥]

[tʰəwŋ͡m˦˥ ɲək̚˦˥]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thống nhất.wav


bì

Sino-Vietnamese word from 皮 (“skin”).
For a parallel where a Sino-Vietnamese item acquires cookery denotation, see huyết (“blood curd”) (vs. native máu (“blood”)). For a reverse case, compare Sino-Vietnamese não vs. native óc.


báo

Sino-Vietnamese word from 報 (“to repay; to thank”).

(colloquial) Refers to a trouble-maker, troll


美麗

chữ Hán form of mĩ lệ (“beautiful; lovely”).


boong

(onomatopoeia) bell-like resounding sound


慈悲

chữ Hán form of từ bi (“merciful, compassion”).


chóng

head

𲆍, 𪭮, 𫏢, 󰕛, 󰈥, 𨄞, 𲆉

vi-adj

𲆍, 𪭮, 𫏢, 󰕛, 󰈥, 𨄞, 𲆉

[t͡ɕawŋ͡m˧˦]

[t͡ɕawŋ͡m˦˧˥]


Việt

English: Vietic

French: viétique

Sino-Vietnamese word from 越 (“Yue; Viet”). Doublet of vượt.

người Việt

Yue people, usually refers to Vietnamese people

Ôi đất Việt yêu dấu ngàn năm!

1945, Nguyễn Đình Thi (lyrics and music), “Diệt phát xít [Destroy the Fascists]”performed by The Voice of Vietnam's Male and Female Choir:

O, beloved [many-]thousand-year-old Viet land!

(slightly literary) nationally or culturally Vietnamese

(rare, of a person) Synonym of Kinh (“ethnically Vietnamese”)


chán

Cậu chán sống rồi sao?


bé

head

bé • (𡮣, 𡭬, 𡮤)

vi-adj

bé • (𡮣, 𡭬, 𡮤)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-bé.wav

hồi bé


自己

chữ Hán form of tự kỉ (“autistic; introverted”).


loe

quần ống loe


大概

chữ Hán form of đại khái (“perfunctory”).


絕望

chữ Hán form of tuyệt vọng (“desperate”).


便利

chữ Hán form of tiện lợi (“convenient; handy”).


無事

chữ Hán form of vô sự (“unharmed; unhurt”).


豐富

chữ Hán form of phong phú (“abundant; rich; plentiful”).


獨一無二

độc nhất vô nhị
độc nhất vô nhị#Vietnamese

chữ Hán form of độc nhất vô nhị (“unique and sought-after”).


工廠

chữ Hán form of công xưởng (“factory, workshop”).


不便

chữ Hán form of bất tiện (“inconvenient”).


犯罪

chữ Hán form of phạm tội (“guilty; culpable”).


不定

chữ Hán form of bất định (“unstable; uncertain”).


oan

Sino-Vietnamese word from 冤 (“unjust/to wrong”).


thứ tư

[tʰɨ˧˦ tɨ˧˧]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ tɨ˧˧]

[tʰɨ˦˥ tɨ˧˧]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thứ tư.wav

From thứ (“-th”) + tư (“four”). In the sense of “fourth”, sometimes bốn is used instead of tư.
As a name of weekday, calque of Portuguese quarta-feira (“Wednesday”, literally “fourth weekday”).


自動

chữ Hán form of tự động (“automatic, spontaneous”).


no

From Proto-Vietic *ɗɔː (“satiated”). Cognate with Arem dɑː.

Đang no.

No bụng rồi.

(chemistry, of an organic compound) saturated


不安

chữ Hán form of bất an (“insecure, disturbed”).


cùn

head

𠝕, 𨮉, 𪟓, 勤, 箟

vi-adj

𠝕, 𨮉, 𪟓, 勤, 箟

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-cùn.wav

lí sự cùn

blunt (having a thick edge or point, not sharp)


cóng

chết cóng


gàn

head

gàn • (𢠥) (diminutive reduplication gàn gàn)

𢠥 (CJK)
gàn gàn (diminutive reduplication)


hèn

閑, 䝨, 𡮷, 𡮺, 𫎤

vi-adj

閑, 䝨, 𡮷, 𡮺, 𫎤

kẻ hèn (mọn) này

trò hèn

Đồ hèn!

You coward! / You little chicken! / You pathetic son of a bitch!


hàng

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-hàng.wav

hàng giờ

hàng chục / tá người

hàng ngàn năm

(before nouns, especially noun phrases with words of number) numerous

Eggcorn of hằng (“every (week, month, year, etc.)”).


lùn

(chiefly Central Vietnam or Southern Vietnam, of a person) short


càn

(of behaviour) wanton; indiscriminate; at random


gà

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-gà.wav

From Proto-Vietic *r-kaː. Cognate with Muong Bi ca, Thavung กา. Compare Khmer រកា (rɔɔrɔkaa, “Year of the Rooster”).
The sense of "inexperienced" comes from a ranking in the video game Gunbound.

quote-web

2021 June 14, Mặt Trứng, “Phá đảo, gà, ra chợ và nguồn gốc của những thuật ngữ mà chỉ các game thủ thế hệ 8-9x mới hiểu được”, in GameK.vn:
Thế nên, ở thời điểm bấy giờ, nếu như gặp phải một đối thủ có hình "gà con" trong game, đa số người chơi đều mặc định luôn đó là những gã có kỹ năng tệ hại, và từ đó, thuật ngữ gà ra đời.
(please add an English translation of this quotation)

Thằng này gà quá! Coi anh mày làm này!

You're so weak! Watch me, the expert, in action!

(slang) inexperienced or unskilled; newbie


lóng

tiếng lóng

từ lóng

nói (tiếng) lóng


mù

head

mù • (瞙, 眓, 𪾤, 𥊦)

vi-adj

mù • (瞙, 眓, 𪾤, 𥊦)

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 霧 (“fog”, SV: vụ).

der

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


mù

head

mù • (霧, 𩇅, 𩂟)

vi-adj

mù • (霧, 𩇅, 𩂟)

tối mù


ròng

nước ròng

vàng ròng

giá trị tài sản ròng

net (remaining after expenses or deductions)

tám năm ròng


ráo

From Old Chinese 燥 (OC *C.sˤawʔ) (B-S) (SV: táo).
Cognate with Muong Bi thảo.


nóng

From Proto-Vietic *p-ɗuŋʔ ~ *p-ruŋʔ (“hot”).

làm nóng

Hôm nay trời nóng nhỉ?

Dưa hấu nóng lắm. Đừng có ăn nhiều quá.
Dưa hấu thì "nóng" kiểu gì?
Don't eat too much watermelon. It's a "hot" food.
How in the world is watermelon "hot"?

alternative medicine
alternative medicine

(alternative medicine, of food and drink) causing the body to be nhiệt (literally “heated”)


nái

Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 巴乃 (MC pae nojX) (modern SV: ba nãi).

lợn/heo nái

(of a livestock mammal, usually a pig) female and kept for breeding


tài

Sino-Vietnamese word from 才 (“talent; skill”).


què

→ Bahnar: kue (“lame”)

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 瘸 (SV: qua).
Khmer ខ្វិន (khvən) and Mon ခေံ are false cognates.

der

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

vi-etym-sino

què quặt

with one's leg(s) and possibly even one's arm(s) amputated


tái

of colors or shades that denote unhealthiness, defilement, fright, etc.; pale (of people's facial skin); rotten (of food)


mén

chí mén

trẻ mén

(of an insect or a baby) newborn, small, juvenile


xù

head

xù • (樞, 驅, 𬇅)

vi-adj

xù • (樞, 驅, 𬇅)


tà

crooked, wicked, dishonest, unjust, heretical, evil


lá

From Proto-Vietic *s-laːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *slaʔ. Cognate with Thavung ซะล้า, Khmer ស្លា (slaa, “areca”), Bahnar hla, Mon သၠ (hlaˀ), Khasi sla, Semai sela. Related to Chinese 茶 (chá) (tea), which was a Loloish loan that in turn was borrowed from Austroasiatic.
Doublet of trà and chè.


trường

Sino-Vietnamese word from 長. Doublet of trưởng.

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-trường.wav

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-trường.wav

ngày trường

(literary or poetic, only in certain expressions) long


可愛

chữ Hán form of khả ái (“lovable, likable, nice”).


健康

chữ Hán form of kiện khang (“healthy; well”).


興奮

chữ Hán form of hưng phấn (“excited; aroused”).


青年

chữ Hán form of thanh niên (“related to young”).


程度

chữ Hán form of trình độ (“talented; skilled”).


優勝

chữ Hán form of ưu thắng (“victorious; superior; predominant; prevailing”).


迷惑

chữ Hán form of mê hoặc (“mesmerizing; entrancing”).


熱情

chữ Hán form of nhiệt tình (“enthusiastic; zealous; fervent”).


chua

From Proto-Vietic *ɟɔːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟuʔ (“sour”); cognates include Khmer ជូរ (cuu), Khasi jew. This term displays an unexpected tone.

dưa muối chua

thích ăn chua

Đồng chua nước mặn.

bón vôi để khử chua

to fertilize with lime to mitigate acidity

mùi chua bỗng rượu

sour-smelling; smelling of acid or vinegar

giọng chua như mẻ


sao

From Middle Vietnamese ſao.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 牢 (MC law) (modern SV: lao), so the older form of the word was *C-raːw (where *C is nonspecific consonant). Even after the sound change *C-r- > /ʂ/ had taken place sometime before 17th century, the use of the phonogram 牢 (MC law) continued, so this morpheme was still commonly spelled such in Nôm texts in the 19th-early 20th century.
Most likely a part of the r-series of demonstratives alongside rày, ri, rứa and ru.

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-sao.wav

Có sao lắm không?

Không sao đâu.


cao

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-cao.wav

núi cao

nhà cao tầng


nai

Unknown. Perhaps from the "confused" look that deer in general exhibit. Perhaps popularized by the lines that describe "a confused deer walking on autumn leaves" from the poem Tiếng thu (“Sounds of Autumn”) by Lưu Trọng Lư, and subsequently the pop song Mắt nai cha cha cha (“Cha-Cha-Cha Deer Eyes”) which describes the innocence of young girls.

giả nai

to act innocent; to act dumb; to feign ignorance


chui

head

𨄺 - 𩠱, 𩠳, 𥩉, 推

vi-adj

𨄺 - 𩠱, 𩠳, 𥩉, 推

(figurative) illicit; underground; shady


ê

head

ê • (𠲖, 𧙜) (diminutive reduplication ê ê)

𠲖 (CJK)
𧙜 (CJK)
ê ê (diminutive reduplication)


ô

Khớp con ngựa ngựa ô. / Ngựa ô anh khớp, anh khớp cái kiệu vàng

(Can we date this quote?), “Lí ngựa ô [Ballad of the Black Horse]”:

Bridling a black horse. / The black horse he bridled, he bridled with a golden litter.

Khớp ! Khớp ! Khớp ! Khớp con ngựa ô, ngựa ô, ngựa ô!

(Can we date this quote?), Trần Tiến (lyrics and music), “Ngựa ô thương nhớ [Black Horse of Longing]”:

Bridle! Bridle! Bridle the black horse! The black horse! The black horse!


ù

ù • (㗀, 𠶑) (diminutive reduplication ù ù)

㗀 (CJK)
𠶑 (CJK)
ù ù (diminutive reduplication)


正式

chữ Hán form of chính thức (“official”).


chay

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 齋 (“vegetarian”, SV: trai).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

bia chay

Ăn chay một ngày mùng 1 thôi còn khó nói gì những việc lành khác.

2023 May 2, Trần Lê Sơn Ý, “Dọn mình trong tháng giêng”, in Tuổi Trẻ:

Eating in accordance with Buddhist dietary principles just the 1st day of the month [of the Lunar calendar] is difficult enough, let alone the other virtuous things.

in accordance with Buddhist dietary principles (no meat, fish, alcohol, onion, etc.)

ăn chay

chả giò chay

bún bò chay

Tuy nói rằng, ăn chay là chế độ sử dụng nguồn nguyên liệu chủ yếu từ thực vật nhưng chế độ ăn chay chia làm nhiều loại. […] Chế độ ăn chay thuần […] Chế độ Lacto - Ovo Vegetarian (ăn chay có kết hợp trứng và sữa) […] Người ăn bán chay[…]

2021, Hà Linh, “Ăn chay có được uống sữa - câu hỏi đặt ra cho nhiều người”, in Tasty Kitchen:

Although I said a vegetarian diet uses mainly plant-based ingredients, vegetarian diets come in many types. […] Vegan diet […] Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet (a vegetarian diet that includes eggs and milk) […] Semi-vegetarians […]

(by extension) typified by the absence of certain animal products, vegetarian


未成年

chữ Hán form of vị thành niên (“underaged”).


Hàn Quốc

[haːŋ˦˩ kuək̚˦˧˥]

[haːŋ˨˩ wək̚˦˥]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 韓國, from Korean 한국 (Han'guk); see further notes there. In Vietnam, this name was adopted in 1994 by the request of South Korea, whose position is that Triều Tiên (“Joseon”) is not the preferred term as it is associated with North Korea.


正統

chữ Hán form of chính thống (“orthodox”).


tân

gái tân

trai tân


國際

chữ Hán form of quốc tế (“international”).


拘泥

chữ Hán form of câu nệ (“fussy; finicky; inflexible”).


vàng

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-vàng.wav

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 黃 (SV: hoàng). The semantic development “yellow” > “gold” parallels that of bạc (“white” > “silver”).

der

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


nhà

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-nhà.wav

From Proto-Vietic *ɲaː (“house”). Cognate with Muong Bi nhà (“house”), Tho [Cuối Chăm] ɲɐː², Phong-Kniang ɲaː ("house"), Danau ɲɑ¹, Mang ɲua⁶.
The prefix sense is a semantic loan from Chinese 家, for example 科學家／科学家 (“scientist”) - nhà khoa học (“scientist”).

lợn/heo nhà


無名

chữ Hán form of vô danh (“nameless; unnamed anonymous”).


tối

head

啐, 最, 晬, 對, 𣋁, 𥊴

vi-adj

啐, 最, 晬, 對, 𣋁, 𥊴

啐 (CJK)
最 (CJK)
晬 (CJK)
對 (CJK)
𣋁 (CJK)
𥊴 (CJK)

From Proto-Vietic *suːlʔ (“dark, evening”). Cognate with Muong thổl, Tho [Cuối Chăm] suːl³.

túi

no vowel lowering, in dialects where *-l > /j/

tún

no vowel lowering, in dialects where *-l > /n/


trắng

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-trắng.wav

From Middle Vietnamese tlắng, from Proto-Vietic *k-laŋʔ (“white (of the eyes/eggs)”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *klaŋʔ ~ *kla(a)ŋ (“white”). Cognate with Muong tlẳng, Bahnar bơlang.

inh

Trẻ em như tờ giấy trắng.

tắm trắng


kẹo

kho cho đến khi kẹo lại

continue to simmer until much water has been reduced

becoming thick or concentrated through evaporation


thơm

From Proto-Vietic *tʰəːm (“fragrant”), perhaps from Proto-Mon-Khmer *dhum ~ *dhuum (“fragrant; to scent”); compare Khmer ធុំ (thum, “fragrant”) and Proto-Katuic *pahuum ~ *tahuum (whence Pacoh thum (“fragrant”)).

hiđrôcacbon thơm

fragrant, sweet-smelling; of a pleasant aroma


đỏ

head

𧺃, 𪜕, 覩, 堵, 𧹦, 𧺂, 䚂, 赭, 𬦄, 𬦃

đỏ • (𧺃, 𪜕, 覩, 堵, 𧹦, 𧺂, 䚂, 赭, 𬦄, 𬦃)

vi-adj

𧺃, 𪜕, 覩, 堵, 𧹦, 𧺂, 䚂, 赭, 𬦄, 𬦃

đỏ • (𧺃, 𪜕, 覩, 堵, 𧹦, 𧺂, 䚂, 赭, 𬦄, 𬦃)

𧺃 (CJK)
𪜕 (CJK)
覩 (CJK)
堵 (CJK)
𧹦 (CJK)
𧺂 (CJK)
䚂 (CJK)
赭 (CJK)
𬦄 (CJK)
𬦃 (CJK)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-đỏ.wav

From Proto-Vietic *tɔh (“red”). Cognate with Muong tó.

số/vận đỏ

đỏ và đen


猶太

chữ Hán form of Do Thái (“Judea, Jewish”).


trung

[t͡ɕʊwŋ͡m˧˧]

trung với Ðảng, hiếu với dân

loyal to the Party, devoted to the people


trần

đôi chân trần

bờ vai trần


chuối

Hôm qua rượu vào lỡ thú với người ta. Chuối quá đi mất!

I was so drunk up yesterday I confessed to her. Man, that's painful to think about!

Nó bày trò ảo thuật bài mà quên bỏ bài vào trong áo, thành thử khi lên diễn thì chuối cả nải luôn!

He wanted to do a card trick but forgot to hide cards in his jackets, so it was all out cringe when he went upstage!

(slang, Northern Vietnam) cringeworthy; cringy


Hán Việt

[haːn˧˦ viət̚˧˨ʔ]

[haːŋ˦˧˥ viək̚˨˩ʔ]

[haːŋ˦˥ viək̚˨˩˨]

[haːŋ˦˥ jiək̚˨˩˨]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 漢越, composed of 漢 (“Han”) and 越 (“Vietnamese”).

vi-etym-sino

Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese#English

(linguistics, of a lexical item) borrowed from Classical Chinese


Xiêm

From a neighbouring language, probably សៀម (siəm) or directly เสียม (sǐiam).
The regular reading of 暹 (MC sjem) is Tiêm, which is indeed attested, most commonly in the obsolete Tiêm La.


Thái

Sino-Vietnamese word from 泰. Doublet of Tày.


無數

chữ Hán form of vô số (“innumerable; countless”).


trái

From Proto-Vietic *k-laːjʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *klaj(ʔ) ~ *klaaj(ʔ) (“to change”), cognate with Muong tlải, Tho [Cuối Chăm] klaːj³, Khmer ក្លាយ (klaay, “to change”), Mon ကၠဲာ (klai, “to translate”). Compare also Thai กลาย (glaai), Lao ກາຍ (kāi).

bên trái

Rẽ/Quẹo (tay) trái.

mặt trái của tấm vải

phân rõ phải trái, đúng sai

(rare) morally wrong, unreasonable, illogical


hoa

Sino-Vietnamese word from 花. The "capital" sense probably comes from the flourishes of the cursive capital letters that are commonly taught in elementary schools; even cursive lower-case letters don't have as many flourishes, which explains the distinction.
The form ba is attested in some Central dialects, most notably from the placename Đông Ba.

Ấy là một cuộc tình duyên, với, hơn nữa – theo lối gọi của những ông làm báo – một cuộc tình duyên của Bình dân (chữ B hoa).

1936, Vũ Trọng Phụng, chapter 1, in Số đỏ, Hà Nội báo:

Theirs was a love affair, and what is more – in the words of journalists – a love affair of the People (with a capital P).


本處

chữ Hán form of bản xứ (“native; indigenous”).


當時

chữ Hán form of đương thời (“around the point in time in question”).


同心

chữ Hán form of đồng tâm (“concentric”).


始終

chữ Hán form of thuỷ chung (“maritally loyal”).


不利

chữ Hán form of bất lợi (“disadvantageous; unfavourable”).


đen

Cognate with Muong ten (“to dye black”) and Chut [Mày] tɛn¹ (Babaev & Samarina, 2018).

đen đủi

số/vận đen

đỏ và đen


hồng

Sino-Vietnamese word from 紅 (“red”).
Semantic shift like this can be seen with other Sino-Vietnamese items that did not displace native terms but were nevertheless borrowed, see trúc (“Phyllostachys spp.”), huyết (“blood curd”).

Bông giấy ngũ sắc có 5 màu: đỏ, hồng, cam, trắng, tím; là loài dễ trồng, ít sâu bệnh, chịu hạn tốt, phù hợp với khí hậu nhiệt đới.

2021, Thành Hiệp, “Thêm một vườn hoa đón du khách check-in [Another flower garden invites tourists to check-in]”, in Cần Thơ News Online:

Five-colored bougainvilleas are either red, pink, orange, white, or purple; they are easy to grow, rarely susceptible to pests and diseases, and drought-tolerant, thus fitting for the tropical climate.

Còn Tuấn Anh khi thấy chiếc xe rực một màu hồng sến sẩm thì méo xệ cả mặt mày.

(Can we date this quote?), Sapis, chapter 3, in Nó thích mày [She Likes You]:

And when Tuấn Anh saw the garishly pink bike, his face contorted.

Trận Stalingrad giữa phát xít Đức và Hồng quân Liên Xô được coi là đẫm máu nhất không chỉ trong Thế chiến 2 mà còn cả trong lịch sử nhân loại.

2015, Trung Hiếu, “Diễn biến trận đánh Stalingrad đẫm máu nhất lịch sử [Timeline of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Bloodiest in History]”, in VOV Online:

The battle of Stalingrad between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Red Army is deemed to be the bloodiest battle in not only the Second World War but also human history.


無限

chữ Hán form of vô hạn (“infinite; unlimited; boundless”).


mát

From Proto-Vietic *t-maːc.
The sense "cray-cray" is possibly also a phono-semantic matching with English mad, although the word is unlikely to be actually derived from English as it has the synonym ấm (“warm”).

(of food or drink) pleasant, soothing, agreeable, goes down easily

a little short of the weight shown on the scale


cắt cổ

(of price) usurious; exorbitant (literally cutthroat)


突出

chữ Hán form of đột xuất (“unforeseen; unexpected; outstanding; extraordinary”).


仁慈

chữ Hán form of nhân từ (“merciful, clement”).


rẻ

head

rẻ • (𥜤, 𠀳, 𫠪)

vi-adj

rẻ • (𥜤, 𠀳, 𫠪)


富貴

chữ Hán form of phú quý/phú quí (“rich and of noble rank”).


rồi

(colloquial) last (week, year, etc.); that just passed


gần

From Proto-Vietic *t-kəɲ. Traditionally regarded as a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 近 (SV: cận).
There have been some proposals, including Miyake (2015) and Trần Trí Dõi (2016), that this term is not a loanword. The earliest layer of Sinitic loans in Vietic usually show the shift of *-r > *-n characteristic of the later stages of Old Chinese. However, there is no motivation for the shift of this *-n to *-ɲ (Rục kept Vietic *-n as is after all vowels).
In any case, cognate with Muong Bi khênh, Chut [Rục] təkiɲ¹, Arem kɨ̀ɲ.


cua

đầu húi cua


聰明

chữ Hán form of thông minh (“clever, intelligent, smart”).


gián đoạn

[zaːn˧˦ ʔɗwaːn˧˨ʔ]

[jaːŋ˦˧˥ ʔɗwaːŋ˨˩ʔ]

[jaːŋ˦˥ ʔɗwaːŋ˨˩˨]

Công việc xây dựng nhà máy bị gián đoạn.

The construction of the factory was interrupted.


陽性

chữ Hán form of dương tính (“positive”).


電磁

chữ Hán form of điện từ (“electromagnetic”).


中間

chữ Hán form of trung gian (“functioning as a bridge in the middle of a chain of exchange, communication, command, transaction, etc”).


偉大

chữ Hán form of vĩ đại (“great; extraordinary”).


巧妙

chữ Hán form of xảo diệu (“ingenious; clever; skillful”).


危險

chữ Hán form of nguy hiểm (“dangerous”).


sốt

Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 破律 (MC phaH lwit) (modern SV: phá luật) and 𤈠, phonetic 律 (MC lwit) (modern SV: luật).


gạo

học gạo

to study without attention to anything else

– Tôi lười học lắm, tôi không ở nhà để gạo bài như Thục tưởng đâu.

1972, Từ Kế Tường, chapter 1, in Đường phượng bay, Thư Trung:

"I'm very lazy when it comes to studying; I'm not home to completely focus on my lessons as you believe."


hoen

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 玄 (SV: huyền)


需要

chữ Hán form of nhu yếu (“of prime necessity; necessary”).


ngọt

head

兀, 𠮾, 𤮾, 𤮿, 𫳹

vi-adj

兀, 𠮾, 𤮾, 𤮿, 𫳹

From Proto-Vietic *t-ŋɔːc. Cognate with Muong ngọch, Thavung ง้อด.

cơm lành canh ngọt


khô

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-khô.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 枯.
Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] kʰɔː¹.


măng

From Proto-Vietic *t-ɓaŋ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₁ɓaŋ. Cognate with Muong băng, Thavung บัง, Pacoh abáng, Khmer ទំពាំង (tumpĕəng), Bahnar tơ'băng, Mang ɓaŋ⁶, Mon တ္ၜၚ် (bɛŋ).
Proto-Karen *Ɂbaŋᴮ (whence S'gaw Karen ဘီၣ် (baẁ)) is an Austroasiatic loanword.

cog

Mon တ္ၜၚ် (bɛŋ)

(only in a few compounds) very young; juvenile


muối

From Middle Vietnamese 𪉴 (múôi), from Proto-Vietic *ɓɔːjʔ (“salt”). Cognate with North Central Vietnamese mói, Muong bỏi/vỏi and Arem bɑːjʔ. Compare also Proto-Katuic *ɓɔɔj (whence Pacoh boi).


艱苦

chữ Hán form of gian khổ (“hard; difficult; arduous”).


hạt dẻ

[haːt̚˧˨ʔ zɛ˧˩]

[haːk̚˨˩ʔ jɛ˧˨]

[haːk̚˨˩˨ jɛ˨˩˦]

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hạt, dẻ.


tươi

head

𦞁 - 𩹯, 𦳦, 𥯒, 哉, 鮮, 蘚

tươi • (𦞁 - 𩹯, 𦳦, 𥯒, 哉, 鮮, 蘚)

vi-adj

𦞁 - 𩹯, 𦳦, 𥯒, 哉, 鮮, 蘚

tươi • (𦞁 - 𩹯, 𦳦, 𥯒, 哉, 鮮, 蘚)

From Old Chinese 鮮 (OC *s[a]r) (B-S) (SV: tiên).

cá tươi


xanh

head

xanh • (撑, 𩇛, 𩇢, 𫕹) (diminutive reduplication xanh xanh)

撑 (CJK)
𩇛 (CJK)
𩇢 (CJK)
𫕹 (CJK)
xanh xanh (diminutive reduplication)

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 青 (“grue”, SV: thanh).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-xanh.wav

Meronyms: lam (“blue”), lục (“green”)

bầu trời xanh thẳm

Lá còn xanh như anh đang còn trẻ. / Lá trên cành, như anh trong đoàn quân.

1950, Hoàng Việt (lyrics and music), “Lá xanh [Green Leaves]”:

A leaf is green, like he is young. / A leaf is on a branch, like he is in a troop.

Em yêu anh, ngả nghiêng, bồng bềnh niềm kiêu hãnh. / Thiên đường xanh mướt, gió trong lành […] Hãy yêu nhau, biển trời xanh mãi !

(Can we date this quote?), Mạnh Quân (lyrics and music), “Thiên đường gọi tên [The Paradise is Saying Your Name]”:

I love you, with drifting, floating pride. / A green paradise, with refreshing winds […] Let's be in love so the sea and the sky remain forever blue!

(of a complexion) green (sickly, unwell)

người đầu bạc tiễn kẻ đầu xanh

"the young perish and the old linger"; the old watch the young die (literally, “the "silver-haired" say goodbye to the "green-haired"”)

Tóc nào hãy còn xanh, cho ta chút hồn nhiên.

(Can we date this quote?), Trịnh Công Sơn (lyrics and music), “Ru ta ngậm ngùi [Lull Me with Your Sorrow]”:

Whose hair is still black, granting me a tad of innocence?

Được yêu em đến khi bạc mái đầu xanh.

(Can we date this quote?), Minh Khang (lyrics and music), “Lời nguyền [The Oath]”:

That I could love you until our black hair turns gray.

(literary, of people's head hair) youthfully black


合法

chữ Hán form of hợp pháp (“lawful; legal”).


trống

Probably from Old Chinese 孔 (OC *kʰloːŋʔ) (SV: khổng).

[t͡ɕəwŋ͡m˧˦]


trống

Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] kʰrɔːŋ³. Compare sống as in the compound sống mái.
The form sống was attested in numerous texts written in the Northern dialects well into the early 20th century, although just primarily in gà sống. The ‹s-›-‹tr-› correspondence indicates that the now dominant form trống originated from the North Central region (compare pairs such as sừng vs. trừng (“horn”), sâu vs. trâu (“caterpillar”), sành vs. trèng (“terracotta”)).

[t͡ɕəwŋ͡m˧˦]

gà trống

cá heo trống/đực

(of an animal with cá (“fish”) in its name, including cetaceans) male


Áo

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-Áo.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 奧, contracted from Mandarin 奧地利／奥地利 (Àodìlì, Áo Địa Lợi), transcription from European language.


nhỏ

head

nhỏ • (𡮈, 乳) (diminutive reduplication nho nhỏ)

𡮈 (CJK)
乳 (CJK)
nho nhỏ (diminutive reduplication)

nhỏ bé / bé nhỏ

tiếng nhỏ

– Nói nhỏ chứ! Tên của thánh thượng sao lại gọi bừa như thế?

2005, chapter 2, in Cao Tự Thanh, transl., Anh hùng xạ điêu, Văn học, translation of 射雕英雄传 by Jīn Yōng (Kim Dung):

"Speak more quietly! Why do you so crudely speak his majesty's name?"


cổ

Sino-Vietnamese word from 古. Doublet of cũ.

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-cổ.wav

Ai Cập cổ

ancient; "old"; compare cũ (“old, but not ancient”)

đồ cổ

antique; "old"; compare cũ (“old, but not ancient”)


sáo

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-sáu.wav


一切

chữ Hán form of nhất thiết (“(slightly formal) necessary”).


徘徊

chữ Hán form of bồi hồi (“uneasy; restless; ill at ease; anxious”).


優先

chữ Hán form of ưu tiên (“prioritised; preferred”).


吸引

chữ Hán form of hấp dẫn (“attractive; captivating; seductive”).


軒昂

chữ Hán form of hiên ngang (“magnificent; dignified”).


主要

chữ Hán form of chủ yếu (“essential; important”).


作業

chữ Hán form of tác nghiệp (“operational”).


quê

From Proto-Vietic *k-veːr (“village”); cognate with Muong quêl (“village”) and Chut [Rục] kəveːl¹. Compare also Proto-Katuic *wiil ~ *weel (whence Pacoh veil).

Short for quê mùa (“typical of countrymen; rural, lame and tacky”).

quê mùa

Mẹ ở nhà đi. Con lớn rồi có mẹ đi cùng thì quê lắm.

Just stay home. I'm a grown-up and it's embarrassing to be chaperoned by you.

(Southern Vietnam, by extension) very embarrassing; mortifying


vắng

absent; away (from a place where one usually is); not present


đầu

Sino-Vietnamese word from 頭.
Displaced inherited Vietic word trốc in most major dialects.

ngày đầu


真正

chữ Hán form of chân chính (“true; genuine; authentic”).


不幸

chữ Hán form of bất hạnh (“unfortunate; unlucky; ill-fated”).


永久

chữ Hán form of vĩnh cửu (“everlasting”).


中年

chữ Hán form of trung niên (“middle-aged”).


抽象

chữ Hán form of trừu tượng (“abstract”).


bầu

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 匏 (“gourd”, SV: biều, bào).

der

SV: <i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">biều, bào</i>

vi-etym-sino

má bầu


tiếng Anh

[tiəŋ˧˦ ʔajŋ̟˧˧]

[tiəŋ˦˧˥ ʔɛɲ˧˧]

[tiəŋ˦˥ ʔan˧˧]


trời

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-trời.wav

From Proto-Vietic *b-ləːj (“sky”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *briiʔ (“sky, rain”). Compare also Muong tlời and Chut [Rục] pləːj².
This particular form is originally the Central-Southern form. The Northern forms include giời from the inland dialects, and lời and tời from the coastal dialects. Both of the coastal Northern forms had already disappeared or are highly endangered since the early 20th century, leaving giời as the representative Northern form, although even this form is losing ground to the written form.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 𫶸, composed of 巴 (MC pae) + 例 (MC ljejH) (modern SV: ba lệ), 婆例 (MC ba ljejH) (modern SV: bà lệ) and 婆雷 (MC ba lwoj) (modern SV: bà lôi). Attested in the Annan Jishi (安南即事, 13th century) as 勃耒 (MC bwot lwijX|lwojH).

ngỗng trời

mười ngày trời

gần ba năm trời

Used after ngày, tháng, or năm to emphasize a lengthy duration


bạc

From Proto-Vietic *baːk (“white”), a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 白 (“white”, SV: bạch); cognate with Proto-Pong *paːk⁸ (“white”), Pong paːk, Thổ pɐːk⁸. The semantic development “white” > “silver” parallels that of vàng (“yellow” > “gold”).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-bạc.wav

silver (either in material or in appearance)

Tóc thầy bạc trắng như mây.


nhã

Sino-Vietnamese word from 雅 (“elegant, graceful, refined”).

(literary, chiefly in compounds) elegant, graceful, refined


không

Borrowed from Chinese 空 (“empty, nothing, none”). This is now the main negator in Vietnamese and, in formal writing, virtually the only negator; however, see the list of other negators at the end of the entry.
The grammaticalization of không into a negative particle began in the 17th century and coincided with the numerous arrivals of Western businessmen in Vietnam. Because the quantifier "zero" is often used in the context of business, a relationship between "zero" and the verbal particle không was established. The development from "empty, vacant" into the numeral "zero" can also been seen in many Southern Min varieties, such as Hokkien 空 (khòng), Teochew 空 (kang³), Hainanese 空, as well as Korean 공 (gong).
In the beginning of the 20th century, không replaced the original chief negator chẳng of native Vietnamese origin, coinciding with the establishment of French colonial rule over Vietnam.

cơm không


sắt

From Middle Vietnamese sắt, from Proto-Vietic *k-rac, from some form of Old Chinese 鐵 (OC *l̥ˤik) (B-S) (SV: thiết). Cognates within Vietic include Muong Bi khách and Chut [Rục] kʰlat⁷. Compare Lakkia kʰjãk⁵⁵ (Pain, 2020).
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 可列 (MC khaX ljet) (modern SV: khả liệt).

kỷ luật sắt


nặng

thanh nặng

the phonemic tone as in the word nặng; either of the phonetic tones as in the words mặc (a checked tone) and nặng

(of an educational course) stressing due to containing a lot of content


hiện tại

[hiən˧˨ʔ taːj˧˨ʔ]

[hiəŋ˨˩ʔ taːj˨˩ʔ]

[hiəŋ˨˩˨ taːj˨˩˨]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 現在, composed of 現 (“now”) and 在 (“to exist”), literally "that which exists now".


分明

chữ Hán form of phân minh (“clear-cut, definite”). (Nguyễn, 1974)


巧譎

chữ Hán form of xảo quyệt (“cunning; artful”).


短命

chữ Hán form of đoản mệnh (“short-lived”).


不變

chữ Hán form of bất biến (“invariable”).


tàu

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-tàu.wav

Alternative letter-case form of Tàu (“Chinese”)


yêu

There are cognates in Tho lects, e.g. Cuối Tân Hợp Ɂiew³⁵ (Nguyễn Hữu Hoành et al., 2022), with the meaning of "beautiful, pretty".
Considering its cognates' meaning, the Vietnamese verb is probably a semantic extension of adjectival Chinese 妖 (yêu, “charming”) as seen in yêu kiều (“charming, graceful”), in turn from 妖嬌.

vợ yêu

con gái yêu của mẹ

Này em yêu ơi, tình anh ngàn lời muốn nói

1999, Ngọc Sơn (lyrics and music), “Lời Tỏ Tình Dễ Thương [An Adorable Confession]”:

Hey my beloved, I have a thousand words to say to you


chiên

Sino-Vietnamese word from 氈 (“felt (textile material)”). Semantically parallel to cừu (“sheep”) from 裘 (“fur coat”).

Tấm đắp duy nhất của cụ là một chiếc chăn chiên, lâu ngày những sợi bông rụng dần, còn lại chủ yếu là những sợi chỉ, căng lên trông như mắt lưới.

2009, Bùi Thanh Minh, chapter 3, in Cõi đời hư thực, NXB Hà Nội:

His only cover was an imitation fur blanket; the cotton fiber had started coming loose a long time ago and what was left was mostly thread: spread out it looked like a net.


sát

Sino-Vietnamese word from 擦. Doublet of xát.

cúi sát

to stoop very low toward something, especially a piece of writing

Sao lại cúi sát vậy? Muốn bị cận à?

Why are you stooping so low? Do you want to be near-sighted or something?


混合

chữ Hán form of hỗn hợp (“mixed; joint”).


周到

chữ Hán form of chu đáo (“thoughtful; considerate”).


trâu

From Northern Middle Vietnamese tlâu, from Proto-Vietic *c-luː. Cognate with North Central Vietnamese tru, Muong tlu, Old Mon jlow (“ox, bull, cattle”) (whence Mon ဂၠဴ, Nyah Kur chǝlòw), Mang løː⁶ and Phong-Kniang jlǝːw.
Khmer ឆ្លូវ (chləw, “Year of the Ox”) was borrowed from a Vietic variety, and thus is not an inherited cognate of the terms listed above.

Con boss game này trâu quá.

This game's boss is super tough (to beat).

(slang, video games) enduring; tough; hard


bắc

Sino-Vietnamese word from 北 (“north”). Compare bấc (as in gió bấc (“northern wind”)).

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-bắc.wav

phía bắc

hướng bắc


慷慨

chữ Hán form of khảng khái, khẳng khái (“chivalrous”).


đói

head

đói • (𠲝, 𩛜, 𩟡)

vi-adj

đói • (𠲝, 𩛜, 𩟡)


lạnh

head

lạnh • (冷, 令) (diminutive reduplication lành lạnh)

冷 (CJK)
令 (CJK)
lành lạnh (diminutive reduplication)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-lạnh.wav

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 冷 (“cold”, SV: lãnh). Displaced native giá, which is now present only in compounds, such as giá lạnh and buốt giá.

der

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


khoa học

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-khoa học.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 科學, composed of 科 (“discipline”) and 學 (“study”), from Japanese 科学 (kagaku, literally “study of many disciplines”).


đẹp

head

惵, 擛, 葉, 𢢲, 𫅠, 𬙾, 󰄮, 󰽨

đẹp • (惵, 擛, 葉, 𢢲, 𫅠, 𬙾, 󰄮, 󰽨)

vi-adj

惵, 擛, 葉, 𢢲, 𫅠, 𬙾, 󰄮, 󰽨

đẹp • (惵, 擛, 葉, 𢢲, 𫅠, 𬙾, 󰄮, 󰽨)

惵 (CJK)
擛 (CJK)
葉 (CJK)
𢢲 (CJK)
𫅠 (CJK)
𬙾 (CJK)

cái đẹp

đẹp gái

đẹp trai

cảnh đẹp

người đẹp vì lụa, lúa tốt vì phân

(literally, “people look good thanks to silk, rice grows well thanks to fertilizer”)

clothes make person look good the way fertilizer helps rice grow

beautiful
pleasant to look at; good-looking

quần áo đẹp

trời đẹp

Tốt gỗ hơn tốt nước sơn, xấu người đẹp nết còn hơn đẹp người.

Good woodwork is better than good finish, ugliness with a good personality is better than good looks.

畧󰑼惵意𡢐些別情

1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)^(https://vi.wikisource.org/wiki/Truyện_Kiều_(bản_Liễu_Văn_Ðường_1866)):


nhẹ

head

弍, 貳, 弭, 挕, 珥, 鉺, 𨌀, 𨏄

nhẹ • (弍, 貳, 弭, 挕, 珥, 鉺, 𨌀, 𨏄) (diminutive reduplication nhè nhẹ)

vi-adj

弍, 貳, 弭, 挕, 珥, 鉺, 𨌀, 𨏄

弍 (CJK)
貳 (CJK)
弭 (CJK)
挕 (CJK)
珥 (CJK)
鉺 (CJK)
𨌀 (CJK)
𨏄 (CJK)
nhè nhẹ (diminutive reduplication)

From Proto-Vietic *-ɲɛːlʔ (“light in weight”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(s)ɟaal ~ *(s)ɟəəl (“light in weight”); compare nhanh nhẹn, Nghệ An/Hà Tỉnh dialects nhẹn, Muong nhẽl, Proto-Bahnaric *-hjəːl, Proto-Katuic *ʔŋhaal ~ *ʔŋhɨal (whence Pacoh nghial), Nyah Kur [Central] khəja̱al and Mon သာ.


đắt

head

坦, 得, 怛, 𠶒, 𠿲, 𧶬, 󰕤

đắt • (坦, 得, 怛, 𠶒, 𠿲, 𧶬, 󰕤)

vi-adj

坦, 得, 怛, 𠶒, 𠿲, 𧶬, 󰕤

đắt • (坦, 得, 怛, 𠶒, 𠿲, 𧶬, 󰕤)

坦 (CJK)
得 (CJK)
怛 (CJK)
𠶒 (CJK)
𠿲 (CJK)
𧶬 (CJK)

đắt tiền

(Northern Vietnam) expensive; dear; costly

having plenty of business; saleable; marketable


趣味

chữ Hán form of thú vị (“enjoyable; interesting”).


bùn

bùn wá!

(Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of buồn (“sad”)


khát

khát nước

khát máu


thập cẩm

[tʰəp̚˧˨ʔ kəm˧˩]

[tʰəp̚˨˩ʔ kəm˧˨]

[tʰəp̚˨˩˨ kəm˨˩˦]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thập cẩm.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 什錦, composed of 什 (“ten”) and 錦 (“brocade”) but metaphorically thập cẩm means 'numerous and varied'.

vi-etym-sino

Ở đây có mì thịt bò, mì hải sản và mì thập cẩm.

Here we have noodles with beef, noodles with seafood and noodles with both.

Bánh trung thu có nhiều loại như bánh nhân đậu, bánh dẻo và bánh thập cẩm.

There are various types of lunar cakes such as bean-stuffed cakes, soft cakes and mixed cakes.

(of food) of a variety or option that contains various different ingredients and thus cannot be placed in a specific category


TW

Perhaps from the Telex input method where the W key is pressed to type the letter ư or to add the diacritical side horn to an already typed u to form the ư, and intended to be this way to distinguish from tư as an actual word, or to make "non-word" abbreviations easier to type with common keyboard programs that do not recognize them as Vietnamese.


通常

chữ Hán form of thông thường (“common; ordinary; usual”).


非凡

chữ Hán form of phi phàm (“extraordinary; singular”).


yểu

Sino-Vietnamese word from 夭 (“to die young, to die prematurely”). The hỏi tone of SV yểu results regularly from the voiceless stop initial & rising tone of late Middle Chinese *ʔˠiɛu^X. Compare yếu, an earlier borrowing from when Middle Chinese tone 上／上声 corresponded to Vietnamese tones B (sắc and nặng).


yếu

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 夭 (“young; tender; to die young”, SV: yêu, yểu).

der

SV: <i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">yêu, yểu</i>


tây

Tai Dam: ꪼꪔ

Audio (Hà Nội)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-tây.wav

Western, especially Western European or French


tây

Perhaps a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 私 (SV: tư).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Audio (Hà Nội)

niềm tây

(in certain compound words) personal, private


正直

chữ Hán form of chính trực (“honorable”).


一成不變

nhất thành bất biến
nhất thành bất biến#Vietnamese

chữ Hán form of nhất thành bất biến (“immutable, unchangeable”).


đại đức

[ʔɗaːj˧˨ʔ ʔɗɨk̚˧˦]

[ʔɗaːj˨˩ʔ ʔɗɨk̚˦˧˥]

[ʔɗaːj˨˩˨ ʔɗɨk̚˦˥]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 大德 (“great ethics/morality/virtue”).

venerable (used, often capitalized, as an honorific before the names of Buddhist monks)


實際

chữ Hán form of thực tế (“real; actual; realistic; practical”).


英勇

chữ Hán form of anh dũng (“heroic; valiant; brave; gallant”).


lúa

From Proto-Vietic *ʔa-lɔːʔ (“paddy rice”). Cognate with Arem alɑːˀ.
According to Ferlus, it is a loanword from Old Chinese 稻 (OC *[l]ˤuʔ) (B-S) (SV: đạo), in turn related to Proto-Mon-Khmer *sruʔ (“paddy rice”) and Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₂rawʔ ~ *t₂raaw() (“taro”). Ferlus reasons that the two different plants share the same ecological farming niche, thus facilitating semantic shift from "taro" to "rice". Shorto notes a dubious connection between Proto-Vietic *ʔa-lɔːʔ and Proto-Mon-Khmer *s-ruʔ (“paddy”).

cog

Đúng là nhìn hơi lúa, mà vẫn bán hàng ầm ầm...

It really does look shabby, but it's still selling wildly...

Chàng trai 30 tuổi nhìn hơi lúa hứa sẽ không để bạn gái chịu khổ.

The guy is thirty years old, looks rather plain, and promises not to let his girlfriend suffer.

Short for hai lúa (“rustic; bumpkinish”).

Kem hộp màu vàng, nhựa rẻ tiền, nhìn hơi lúa...

The cream is in a yellow pack, cheap plastic, looks rather low quality...


風流

chữ Hán form of phong lưu (“smart; elegant”).


端正

chữ Hán form of đoan chính (“honest; decent; having integrity”).


天然

chữ Hán form of thiên nhiên (“natural”).


補充

chữ Hán form of bổ sung (“supplementary”).


mới

head

買, 㵋, 某, 𬔫, 𪦲, 貝, 埋, 󱮈

vi-adj

買, 㵋, 某, 𬔫, 𪦲, 貝, 埋, 󱮈

買 (CJK)
㵋 (CJK)
某 (CJK)
𬔫 (CJK)
𪦲 (CJK)
貝 (CJK)
埋 (CJK)

From Proto-Vietic *ɓəːjʔ. Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] bəːj³. Unrelated to Thai ใหม่ (mài) or Khmer ថ្មី (thməy).


mặn

head

曼, 𪉾, 𠼦, 慢, 漫, 𪉽

vi-adj

曼, 𪉾, 𠼦, 慢, 漫, 𪉽

曼 (CJK)
𪉾 (CJK)
𠼦 (CJK)
慢 (CJK)
漫 (CJK)
𪉽 (CJK)

nước mặn

(of food) having meat or fish; not vegetarian or vegan; roughly equivalent to English savory

(figurative, colloquial) passionate; ardent


lạc

Sino-Vietnamese word from 落 (“to fall; to lose; to stray; lost”). For the "groundnut" sense, compare Chinese 落花生 (luòhuāshēng, “groundnut”).


無益

chữ Hán form of vô ích (“useless; futile”).


官僚

chữ Hán form of quan liêu (“bureaucratic”).


荒唐

chữ Hán form of hoang đường (“ridiculous, sounding made-up, almost certainly delusional or fictitious; bogus, false, nonsensical, preposterous”).


仁愛

chữ Hán form of nhân ái (“humane; compassionate; benevolent”).


queo

(figurative, of a narrative) distorted; manipulated; embellished


rét

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 冽 (SV: liệt).

der

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


tốt

Cognate with Muong Bi thốch (“good, beautiful”).

gạo tốt

người tốt

good, as in high-quality, well-made, well executed, good-natured or ethical; compare hay (“good as in inventive, brilliant or entertaining”) and giỏi (“good as in skilled or competent”)

Tóc tốt quá rồi, phải đi cắt thôi.

My hair's getting out of hand. I gotta get it cut.

(of head hair or facial hair) very dense or long, more so than it should be


Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ

Alternative spelling of Thổ Nhĩ Kì.: Turkey (a country located in eastern Thrace in southeastern Europe and Anatolia in southwestern Asia)


Thuỵ Điển

[tʰwi˧˨ʔ ʔɗiən˧˩]

[tʰwɪj˨˩ʔ ʔɗiəŋ˧˨]

[tʰ⁽ʷ⁾ɪj˨˩˨ ʔɗiəŋ˨˩˦]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 瑞典, perhaps from Hokkien 瑞典 (Sūi-tián). Compare Thuỵ Sĩ.


lụa

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 縷 (“thread”, SV: lũ).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

giò lụa, chả lụa


cộng sản

[kəwŋ͡m˧˨ʔ saːn˧˩]

[kəwŋ͡m˨˩ʔ ʂaːŋ˧˨]

[kəwŋ͡m˨˩ʔ saːŋ˧˨]

[kəwŋ͡m˨˩˨ ʂaːŋ˨˩˦]

[kəwŋ͡m˨˩˨ saːŋ˨˩˦]


banh

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) broken into smithereens; ruined; tattered


Ý

Sino-Vietnamese word from 意. As for the country name, contracted from Mandarin 意大利 (Yìdàlì, Ý Đại Lợi), from a transcription from a European language.

der

Yìdàlì, Ý Đại Lợi


nhựa

From Proto-Vietic *ɲaːʔ (“sap; resin; drug”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer. Cognate with Khmu [Cuang] krɲaʔ ("resin used to catch animals").
The adjectival sense derived from the stickiness/viscosity of resin.

Nhựa vừa thôi!


đông lạnh

[ʔɗəwŋ͡m˧˧ lajŋ̟˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗəwŋ͡m˧˧ lɛɲ˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗəwŋ͡m˧˧ lan˨˩˨]


đông

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 凍 (“freeze”, SV: đống).

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


ngon

From Proto-Vietic *c-ŋɔːn. Compare Khmer ឆ្ងាញ់ (chngañ).


無能

chữ Hán form of vô năng (“incompetent; untalented; incapable”).


công phu

Sino-Vietnamese word from 功夫, composed of 功 (“accomplishment”) and 夫 (“man, husband”).

[kəwŋ͡m˧˧ fu˧˧]

[kəwŋ͡m˧˧ fʊw˧˧]

[kəwŋ͡m˧˧ fʊw˧˧]

Nó làm bài thuyết trình công phu lắm.

He gave a very conscientious presentation.

芸制拱𡗋功夫 / 廊制些沛別朱󰖆調

The pleasure business requires us to be painstaking / In the world of pleasure we need to know a lot

Nghề chơi cũng lắm công phu / Làng chơi ta phải biết cho đủ điều

(of a creation) conscientious; thorough; painstaking


bóng

From Proto-Vietic *pɔːŋʔ (“shadow”); cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] pɒːŋ³, Chut [Rục] pɔːŋ³, and Muong pỏng.

[ʔɓawŋ͡m˦˧˥]


bóng

Possibly from the etymology above, through the semantic development path of "female occultist, shamaness > weirdo > homosexual". See also the adjectival sense of đồng bóng.
For a parallel, compare English queer.

[ʔɓawŋ͡m˦˧˥]


ét

Compare ít, which is likely its variant.

(only in compounds) very few, very little


tóm

From Proto-Vietic *sɔːmʔ. Cognate with Liha sɔːm³, Thavung Ɂasɔ̰̂ːm ("thin, slim"). There is also the variant *ɟɔːmʔ, represented by forms like Arem acuəmʔ, Kha Phong cɔːm⁴.


人文

chữ Hán form of nhân văn (“humanist; humanistic”).


liền

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 連 (SV: liên).

der

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


mặt

From Middle Vietnamese mặt.
Originally meaning “eye” and is the regular descendant of Proto-Vietic *mat (“eye”), further from Proto-Mon-Khmer *mat (“eye”). Related to mắt (“eye”). The semantic change of “eye” > “face” can also be seen in Muong, most dialects of which use a single form, măt, to mean both “eye” and “face”.

tay mặt


lụt

From Proto-Vietic *p-luːt (“inonder, to flood”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer. Compare Chut blut¹ ("to flood"), Ngeq lṳut ("flood"), Khmer លិច (lɨc, “to sink, to submerge, to overflow, to flood”). See also lút.


loãng

[l⁽ʷ⁾aːŋ˨˩˦]

cháo loãng


lừng

tiếng lừng

(now chiefly in compounds) resounding; renowned


芳菲

chữ Hán form of phương phi (“stout; portly; corpulent”).


cơm

From Proto-Vietic *kəːm (“cooked rice”); cognate with Arem kʌːm. According to Ferlus, a loan from Chinese 泔 (OC *kaːm, “water from washing rice; kitchen slops”) (SV: cam), although the vowels are difficult to match.
Semantically, compare Thai ข้าว (kâao, “rice; meal”), Khmer បាយ (baay, “rice; meal”), Chinese 飯／饭 (fàn, “rice; meal”), Korean 밥 (bap, “rice; meal”), Japanese ご飯 (gohan, “rice; meal”).

och-l

(of fruit) tasteless (not sour, or only slightly sweet)


憂愁

chữ Hán form of ưu sầu (“sad; worried; depressed”).


朦朧

chữ Hán form of mông lung (“vague, uncertain, confused”).


tân cử

[tən˧˧ kɨ˧˩]

[təŋ˧˧ kɨ˧˨]

[təŋ˧˧ kɨ˨˩˦]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 新 (“new”) and 舉 (“elect”).

vi-etym-sino

Tân cử tổng thống bắt đầu chọn các bộ trưởng.

The president-elect is beginning to choose his/her cabinet secretaries.


不良

chữ Hán form of bất lương (“dishonest”).


bình thường

[ʔɓïŋ˨˩ tʰɨəŋ˨˩]

[ʔɓɨn˦˩ tʰɨəŋ˦˩]

[ʔɓɨn˨˩ tʰɨəŋ˨˩]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 平常 (“ordinary”).

Bệnh do tổn thương của tim, vôi hoá van, tổn thương tim do giang mai và hở động mạch chủ đơn thuần, do giãn động mạch chủ bình thường theo tuổi thọ và ảnh hưởng đến tăng huyết áp.

1999, Huỳnh Thị Dung, Từ điển văn hóa gia đình, Hà Nội: Văn hóa Thông tin, page 603:

A disease due to cardiac injury, valve calcification, cardiac damage secondary to syphilis, or idiopathic aortic incompetence, which is from normal age-related dilatation of the aortic (root) and results in increased blood pressure.

Ông bà Dursley, nhà số 4 đường Privet Drive, tự hào mà nói họ hoàn toàn bình thường, cám ơn bà con quan tâm.

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:

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.


nọc

heo/lợn nọc

bò nọc


lép

ngực lép

sầu riêng hạt lép

not well-filled; empty; hollow; flat; deflated

chịu lép

Sáu người biết y vốn tâm cao khí ngạo, không hề chịu lép.

2005, chapter 4, in Cao Tự Thanh, transl., Anh hùng xạ điêu, Văn học, translation of 射雕英雄传 by Jīn Yōng (Kim Dung):

The six of them knew him to be proud and arrogant of character, and that he never gave up until he was recognized as the best.


huyền

đen huyền

tóc huyền

(thanh) huyền

(dấu) huyền

the grave accent for representing the huyền tone


一時

chữ Hán form of nhất thời (“(somewhat literary) transient; temporary”).


lục

Sino-Vietnamese word from 綠, from Literary Chinese 綠, using the same disambiguation of 青 (“grue”) with 綠／绿 (“green”) and 藍／蓝 (lam, “blue”). See also xanh (“grue”).

[lʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[lʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[lʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨]


cân

tam giác cân

cân đối


ruột

From Proto-Vietic *rɔːc, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ruuc ~ *ruəc. Cognate with Muong rọch, Arem rùəc, Proto-Katuic *rɔɔc (whence Pacoh roiq) and Mon ကြုတ်.

Coordinate term: nuôi

bố ruột

(of a human individual) directly biologically related


寂寞

chữ Hán form of tịch mịch (“solitary, silent, quiet”).


tơ

hiền như nai tơ

(of young person, specially if female, of certain animals, informal) young, tender


tư

riêng tư

việc tư

công tư phân minh

upright about the boundary between public and private matters


無情

chữ Hán form of vô tình (“heartless, hardhearted”).


最高

chữ Hán form of tối cao (“highest; supreme”).


vòng

head

vòng (diminutive reduplication vòng vòng)


bẩn thỉu

[ʔɓən˧˩ tʰiw˧˩]

[ʔɓəŋ˧˨ tʰiw˧˨]

[ʔɓəŋ˨˩˦ tʰiw˨˩˦]


sâu

From Proto-Vietic *c-ruː (“deep”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟruuʔ ~ *ɟruh ~ *rɟuh (“deep”). Cognate with Muong Bi khu, Khmer ជ្រៅ (crɨw), Bahnar jrŭ, Pacoh tru, Khmu [Cuang] ɟruʔ.

inh

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-sâu.wav


sâu

Regarding the adjectival sense, compare Japanese 虫歯 (mushiba, literally “bug tooth”).

cog

răng sâu

sâu răng


ngựa

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-ngựa.wav

From Proto-Vietic *m-ŋəːʔ. See also Chinese 午 (wǔ, “7th earthly branch; horse in the Chinese zodiac”).
The adjectival sense "sexually promiscuous, lecherous" (whence sense "appearance-obsessed, ostentatious") originates from the comparison of sexually promiscuous, lecherous people, especially women, to horses, as seen in - for instances: Đại Nam quấc âm tự vị, Dictionnaire Annamite-Français (1898), the Huế's idiom "rượn như ngựa Thượng Tứ ('to rut like imperial horses')", which is used to mock women and girls who are deemed "rotten, of loose morals".

zh-l

Đừng có ngựa! Coi chừng nó lừa đấy!

Don't be a trollop! Beware that he can make an ass out of you!

‘[…] Nói như má hễ thương yêu nhau là hư, thì thiên hạ là đồ bỏ hết chắc? Con biết má giận má nói vậy chớ thế nào má hổng xét lại...’
Bác Bảy cướp lời: ‘Thôi mầy đừng có ngựa nữa! Tao biết mầy khôn lắm mà! Thứ đồ đội quần người ta mà hổng biết mắc cỡ...’

‘ […] If [people] loving each other - as you've said, Mom - are indeed rotten, then is every one in the whole world trash? I know you've said so out of anger yet won't you think that over anyhow...’
Uncle Bảy barged in: ‘Stop being a trollop, you! I know you're smart! You shameless bum...’

(figurative, chiefly Southern Vietnam, derogatory, dated) sexually promiscuous, prurient, lewd, lecherous, slutty

Mày ngựa lắm con ạ. Tốn bao nhiêu là tiền mua quần áo với chả mĩ phẩm.

You're so appearance-obsessed. All this money you spend on clothing and cosmetics.

Kìa, trông thằng đó ngựa chưa kìa!

2013, Lê Trung Ngân, “Tiếng Lóng Thời Nay [Slangs Nowadays]”, in bacsiletrungngan.wordpress.com:

(by extension, figurative, chiefly Southern Vietnam, derogatory) appearance-obssessed, showy, flashy, gaudy, flamboyant, ostentatious


傳染

chữ Hán form of truyền nhiễm (“infectious”).


大量

chữ Hán form of đại lượng (“generous; magnanimous”).


hói

From Proto-Vietic *həːlʔ. Cognate with Muong hởl.

male pattern baldness
male pattern baldness

bald as a result of male pattern baldness


lớn

head

𡘯, 𢀲, 𱜝, 𣁔, 𣁔

vi-adj

𡘯, 𢀲, 𱜝, 𣁔, 𣁔

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-lớn.wav

cao lớn

người lớn

chí lớn

2 lớn hơn 1

ăn to nói lớn


đầy

head

đầy • (苔, 菭, 𧀟, 𠫆)

vi-adj

đầy • (苔, 菭, 𧀟, 𠫆)


樂觀

chữ Hán form of lạc quan (“optimistic”).


悲觀

chữ Hán form of bi quan (“pessimistic”).


不一

chữ Hán form of bất nhất (“inconsistent”).


個人

chữ Hán form of cá nhân (“individual, personal”).


有勇無謀

hữu dũng vô mưu
hữu dũng vô mưu#Vietnamese

chữ Hán form of hữu dũng vô mưu (“courageous but not shrewd”).


南亞

chữ Hán form of Nam Á.: South Asia (a region of Asia)


沈重

chữ Hán form of trầm trọng (“severe; grave; dire”).


驚恐

chữ Hán form of kinh khủng (“horrible”).


vô lí

Sino-Vietnamese word from 無理 (“unreasonable”).

vi-etym-sino

Vô lí! Thằng ngu như nó làm sao mà giải bài này được!

That's ridiculous! How come an idiot like him could solve this one?

making no sense; nonsensical; impossible; implausible

Người đâu mà vô lí!


優秀

chữ Hán form of ưu tú (“excellent; outstanding”).


保守

chữ Hán form of bảo thủ (“conservative”).


béo

→ Tày: bẻo

axit béo


úa

head

úa • (𦼇, 𪹪, 𬅂)

vi-adj

úa • (𦼇, 𪹪, 𬅂)


ế

(of goods, shop, or restaurant) unmarketable; unsalable; unable to find customers; sluggish

shop; or restaurant; shop; or restaurant

ế chồng

2017 Dec, Bạn muốn hẹn hò (Tập 338)
cũng có thể đó là lý do mà em ế tới giờ
Maybe that's the reason I'm still single

Nhiều bạn trẻ thường rỉ tai nhau rằng muốn nhanh thoát ế, thì cứ siêng đi đám cưới, tiệc tùng vào.

2017 Dec, “Chăm đi đám cưới chính là cách giúp nhiều bạn trẻ thoát ế thành công”, in Trí Thức Trẻ:

Many young people often tell each other that the way to quickly say goodbye to singledom is to keep going to weddings and parties.

(colloquial, of people) past the usual age for marriage but still unmarried or single; on the shelf


cao-su

[kaːw˧˧ ʂʊw˧˧]

[kaːw˧˧ ʂʊw˧˧]

From French caoutchouc. Compare Khmer កៅស៊ូ (kawsuu).


典型

chữ Hán form of điển hình (“typical; characteristic”).


Thụy Sĩ

Traditional tone placement spelling of Thuỵ Sĩ.


Đan Mạch

[ʔɗaːn˧˧ majk̟̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗaːŋ˧˧ mat̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗaːŋ˧˧ mat̚˨˩˨]


Phần Lan

[fəŋ˦˩ laːŋ˧˧]

[fəŋ˨˩ laːŋ˧˧]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-Phần Lan.wav

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 芬蘭 (SV: Phân Lan), perhaps euphemistically altered due to phân (“feces”) and the influence of phần (“part; portion”), from Mandarin 芬蘭／芬兰 (Fēnlán).

der

SV: <i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">Phân Lan</i>


Na Uy

[naː˧˧ ʔwi˧˧]

[naː˧˧ ʔwɪj˧˧]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 挪威, possibly from Mandarin 挪威 (Nuówēi) or Hokkien 挪威 (Nô͘-ui)

Rừng Na Uy


Úc

[ʔʊwk͡p̚˦˧˥]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 澳, contracted from 澳大利 (Úc Đại Lợi), from Mandarin 澳大利亞／澳大利亚 (Àodàlìyà, phonetically properly in Sino-Vietnamese Áo Đại Lợi Á). The reading úc (“inlet”) is used perhaps to avoid confusion with Áo (“Austria”).


Trung Quốc

[t͡ɕʊwŋ͡m˧˧ kuək̚˧˦]

[ʈʊwŋ͡m˧˧ kuək̚˦˧˥]

[ʈʊwŋ͡m˧˧ wək̚˦˥]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 中國, composed of 中 (“center”) and 國 (“country”). Doublet of Tung Của.


Nga

Orthographic borrowing from Chinese 俄 (short for 俄羅斯／俄罗斯 (Éluósī)), from Manchu ᠣᡵᠣᠰ (oros), from Classical Mongolian ᠣᠷᠤᠰ (orus), from Middle Mongol 斡羅思 (oros), from Old East Slavic Рꙋсь (Rusĭ), from Proto-Finnic *roocci.

obor

Liên bang Nga

(relational) of Russia, Russia’s, Russian


復興

chữ Hán form of Phục Hưng (“of the Renaissance”).


痛切

chữ Hán form of thống thiết (“pathetic”).


thú

Sino-Vietnamese word from 趣 (“pleasure”).


chính

Sino-Vietnamese word from 正. Doublet of chánh.

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-chính.wav


trọc

head

禿, 秃, 育, 鐲, 𬴭

vi-adj

禿, 秃, 育, 鐲, 𬴭

[t͡ɕawk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʈawk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʈawk͡p̚˨˩˨]

From Middle Vietnamese tlọc. Likely related to trốc (“head”).

hói

bald as a result of male pattern baldness

đồi trọc


失望

chữ Hán form of thất vọng (“disappointed”).


chùa

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 寺 (“temple”, SV: tự). The adjective sense came from the notion that Buddhist temples would give out food for free.

der

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

vi-etym-sino

(colloquial, informal) pirate (unlicensed)


cong

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *koŋ (“be bent”); cognates include Khmer កោង (kaong, “curved, be bent”) and Mon ကိုၚ် (“be bent”). See also Thai โค้ง (kóong), Chinese 弓 (cung).


hồng ngoại

[həwŋ͡m˨˩ ŋwaːj˧˨ʔ]

[həwŋ͡m˦˩ ŋwaːj˨˩ʔ]

[həwŋ͡m˨˩ ŋwaːj˨˩˨]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 紅外, composed of 紅 (“crimson”) and 外 (“outside”). Compare Japanese 赤外 (sekigai, xích ngoại).

bức xạ hồng ngoại


động

Sino-Vietnamese word from 動 (“to move”).

[ʔɗəwŋ͡m˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗəwŋ͡m˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗəwŋ͡m˨˩˨]

biển động


bẩn

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-bẩn.wav

(Northern Vietnam) dirty; unclean; filthy

(Northern Vietnam, colloquial) bad; mean; despicable


tồi

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 頹 (SV: đồi).

der

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


đúng

[ʔɗʊwŋ͡m˦˧˥]

Probably a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 中 (SV: trúng).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Bài 10 câu, đúng có 2 câu.

There were 10 questions, and I only got 2 correct answers.

Đúng rồi.

năm giờ đúng

not wrong or improper; right, correct, accurate, precise, proper, etc.


to lớn

[tɔ˧˧ ləːn˧˦]

[tɔ˧˧ ləːŋ˦˧˥]

[tɔ˧˧ ləːŋ˦˥]


ướt

head

ướt • (㲸, 𣿌)

vi-adj

ướt • (㲸, 𣿌)

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *kʔaac (“wet”); cognate with Semai ka'aac. Compare the át in ướt át, which is the undiphthongized version of the root.

Mới mưa xong nền ướt, coi chừng té.

It just rained and the floor is wet, so be careful so that you don't slip.


thẳng

head

𣦎, 𣦛, 𥊢, 𥊣, 𬆅, 𬆈

vi-adj

𣦎, 𣦛, 𥊢, 𥊣, 𬆅, 𬆈

𣦎 (CJK)
𣦛 (CJK)
𥊢 (CJK)
𥊣 (CJK)
𬆅 (CJK)
𬆈 (CJK)

Most likely a loanword.
Its source is unclear; compare Middle Chinese 侹 (MC thengH) "long, level, straight (obsolete)" > Sino-Vietnamese thính.
The native Vietic word for "straight" is ngay, which also has Khmuic cognates.

đứng thẳng


dở

head

𱟩, 𫺙, 𱠎, 󱦣, 與, 𡁎, 𠽙, 𢷣

dở • (𱟩, 𫺙, 𱠎, 󱦣, 與, 𡁎, 𠽙, 𢷣)

vi-adj

𱟩, 𫺙, 𱠎, 󱦣, 與, 𡁎, 𠽙, 𢷣

dở • (𱟩, 𫺙, 𱠎, 󱦣, 與, 𡁎, 𠽙, 𢷣)

𱟩 (CJK)
𫺙 (CJK)
𱠎 (CJK)
與 (CJK)
𡁎 (CJK)
𠽙 (CJK)
𢷣 (CJK)


xấu

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-xấu.wav

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 醜 (“ugly”, SV: xú).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

xấu òm / xấu hoắc

Tên gì xấu quá vậy?

gạo xấu

kẻ xấu

theo nghĩa xấu


ngắn

Cognate with Arem ŋanˀ ("low").
Displaced the usage of vắn as the main word for "short" in all dialects.

giường ngắn

thời gian ngắn

short or brief in terms of length or duration


bụi

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-bụi.wav


dày

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-dày.wav

From Proto-Vietic *k-daj.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as ⿰苔巨, composed of 巨 (MC gjoX) + 苔 (MC doj) (modern SV: cự đài).


giỏi

'Tôi nghĩ rằng để giỏi tiếng Việt cần phải thực hành giao tiếp thường xuyên với người Việt.'

2017 May 19, Đ. Tuấn, “Hội thảo 'Giữ gìn, bảo vệ ngôn ngữ và văn hóa Việt' tại Pháp [A workshop on 'Maintaining, preserving the Vietnamese language and culture' in France]”, in Nhân Dân, Communist Party of Vietnam, retrieved 2019-04-02:

'I think to be good at Vietnamese, you have to stay in regular contact with Vietnamese people.'

tốt nghiệp loại giỏi

(education, of a student or their achievements) "good", below xuất sắc (“excellent”), above khá (“decent”), trung bình (“average”), yếu (“poor”) and kém (“terrible”)


rộng

rộng rãi

Chỗ này rộng thật!

(literal) having lots of space, or spanning across great amounts of space; spacious, wide, broad, vast, large, etc.

(clothing) loose or too big; compare chật (“tight or too small”) and vừa (“fitted”)

hiểu biết/kiến thức (sâu) rộng

(figurative) having great breadth or depth; broad, vast, great, deep, etc.


cũ

head

cũ • (𪡻, 󰃙, 寠, 屡, 屢, 𡳰, 𡳵, 𡳶, 󰉤, 󰉵, 󰜥, 󲅐, 𫇰, 𬞺, 󰉬, 𬞰, 𬟛, 𬟗, 𱿈, 󱝘, 𪧘)

vi-adj

𪡻 (CJK)
寠 (CJK)
屡 (CJK)
屢 (CJK)
𡳰 (CJK)
𡳵 (CJK)
𡳶 (CJK)
𫇰 (CJK)
𬞺 (CJK)
𬞰 (CJK)
𬟛 (CJK)
𬟗 (CJK)
𱿈 (CJK)
𪧘 (CJK)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-cũ.wav

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 古 (“old”, SV: cổ). Doublet of cổ.

der

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

vi-etym-sino

(of an object) old, but not ancient; compare cổ (“ancient”) and già (of a lifeform)

từ/nghĩa cũ

(of an object) secondhand (not new; previously owned and used by another)

Liên Xô cũ

Nam Tư cũ

bạn cũ

người yêu/người tình/bồ/bạn trai/bạn gái cũ

chồng/vợ cũ


cỏ

head

cỏ • (𦹵, 𦹯, 古, 苦)

vi-adj

cỏ • (𦹵, 𦹯, 古, 苦)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-cỏ.wav

From Middle Vietnamese cỏ, from Proto-Vietic *kɔh (“grass”). Cognate with Thavung ก็อฮ.
The sense "marijuana" is probably a calque of English weed.


rắn

From Proto-Vietic *k-sanʔ (“solid; hard; firm”). Cognate with Arem tʰanˀ.

inh

rắn lại

rắn/cứng đầu

rắn chắc


tròn

head

𧷺, 𡃋, 侖, 圇, 崙, 𣄇

vi-adj

𧷺, 𡃋, 侖, 圇, 崙, 𣄇

𧷺 (CJK)
𡃋 (CJK)
侖 (CJK)
圇 (CJK)
崙 (CJK)
𣄇 (CJK)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-tròn.wav

From Proto-Vietic *g-lɔːn (“round, full (moon)”); cognate with Muong tlòn. Compare Proto-Katuic *-lɔɔn (“to shape into a ball”), Khasi pyllon (“round”), Proto-Hmong-Mien *ɢlun (“round”) (whence Iu Mien junh (“round, circular”)). Compare also trọn.

cog

O tròn như quả trứng gà.

round, especially circular, elliptical, oval, cylindrical or spherical

tròn chục/trăm/nghìn

làm tròn lên/xuống

(mathematics, informal) being an integer


sống

From Proto-Vietic *k-roːŋʔ (“alive; raw”), cognate with Muong khống.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 𠸙, composed of 古 (MC kuX) + 弄 (MC luwngH) (modern SV: cổ lộng), ⿱古弄, composed of 古 (MC kuX) + 弄 (MC luwngH) (modern SV: cổ lộng) and 弄 (MC luwngH) (modern SV: lộng).

người sống

Hắn còn sống.

ăn tươi nuốt sống

to eat something (a)live; (figurative) to enslave or exploit inhumanely

rau sống

cơm sống


sống

雄 Hùng = chim sống, oiseau mâle.

1920, Nguyễn Can Mộng, “Bài 48”, in Nam học Hán văn khoá bản:

Vừa nói đến đấy thì nghe bên nhà tôi có tiếng người nói to, con dỏ nhà tôi chạy ra ngơ ngác như tìm một vật gì. Tôi hỏi thì nó trả lời:
— Nhà mất con gà, con gà sống thiến to nhất...

As soon as I said that, I heard a loud voice coming from the house, then my little daughter ran out looking bewildered as if searching for something. When I asked, she said:
—A chicken has gone missing, our biggest castrated rooster...


thối

2003: Văn học Việt Nam Thế kỷ XX 1:16, Mai Quốc Liên and Nguyễn Văn Lưu ed., compiled by Hoài Anh, Văn Học Publishing House, p. 890 //books.google.com/books?id=WGhkAAAAMAAJ
Từ đám thuyển ấy, tỏa ra mùi thơm lừng của cam chín, mùi ung ủng của cam thối, làm ngây ngất một khoảng bến.
From that group of boats arose the fragrance of ripe oranges and the odor of rotten oranges, overtaking the whole wharf.

1939: Ngô Tất Tố, Lều chõng
(Chapter 3) Nếu anh không vứt hai tiếng huynh ông vào lọ mắm thối của anh, thì tôi đứng dậy lập tức, không thèm nói với anh một câu nào nữa.
If you don't throw away those two words "huynh" and "ông" [both terms of respect] into that stinking fish sauce vial of yours, then I'm going to stand up right away and not say one more word to you.
(Chapter 20) Nào cú kêu, khỉ ho, nào dế giun rên khóc, thỉnh thoảng lại thêm những tiếng cọp gầm theo với ngọn gió tanh tanh thối thối ở nẻo xa xa đưa lại.
Owls howling, monkeys whooping, crickets and worms moaning and groaning, occasionally even the sound of a tiger roaring followed by a stinking, stinking wind blowing in from afar.

1961: Nguyễn Huy Tưởng, chapter 12, Sống mãi với Thủ Đô
Tờ mờ sáng, sau khi những người đói còn sống sót toả đi các phố, xin ăn, ông lại rửa ráy sạch sẽ những chỗ vỉa hè, họ vừa nằm vừa bậy ra hôi thối đến lộn mửa.
In the twilight of dawn, after the hungry who survived dispersed into the streets, begging for food, he returned to wash clean the sidewalks which they had lain in and desecrated, raising a vomitous stench.

2001: National Assembly of Vietnam, Law on traffic on the roads of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2001 (26/2001/QH10), Title VI, article 61, section 3(i), translation from http://www.moj.gov.vn/vbpq/en/Lists/Vn%20bn%20php%20lut/View_Detail.aspx?ItemID=9491
Cấm chở hàng nguy hiểm, hàng có mùi hôi thối, súc vật đang bị dịch bệnh hoặc hàng có ảnh hưởng đến sức khoẻ của khách
Not transporting dangerous goods, fetid goods, diseased animals or goods adversely affecting the passengers' health

thối như cóc chết

(Northern Vietnam) fetid, putrid, stinking, foul-smelling (with the smell of a decomposing body, of rotting food, especially rotting fruit, or of dung)

2000: Chu Cẩm Phong, Nhật ký Chu Cẩm Phong (Nhà văn - chiến sĩ), Thanh Niên Publishing House, p. 137 //books.google.com/books?id=KHRuAAAAMAAJ
Phải đi khắp tỉnh, đào bới lục lọi xin bom thối.
I had to go all over the province, digging and rummaging for unexploded bombs.

(Northern Vietnam, of a bomb) unexploded


trong

head

冲, 工, 沖, 𤁘, 𤄯, 𬈴

vi-adj

冲, 工, 沖, 𤁘, 𤄯, 𬈴

冲 (CJK)
工 (CJK)
沖 (CJK)
𤁘 (CJK)
𤄯 (CJK)
𬈴 (CJK)

From Middle Vietnamese tlao᷄, from Proto-Vietic *k-lɔːŋ (“clear; limpid”).

[t͡ɕawŋ͡m˧˧]

Nước trong mà! Uống chắc không sao đâu!

The water looks pretty clean! Probably wouldn't hurt to drink a bit!

(of liquid) clear and thus presumably clean

(of a material) translucent or transparent


cháy

From Proto-Vietic *k-carʔ (“fire, conflagration”). Cognate with Muong chẳl, Bo kacarʔ, Arem calʔ.


chết

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-chết.wav

From Proto-Vietic *k-ceːt, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kc(ə)t (“to die”). Related to giết (“to kill”).
For its relation, or lack thereof, to the Old Yue word meaning "to die" and written as 札, see that entry.

cá chết

(figurative, of time) unoccupied; free; idle


mục

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɓuk ~ *kɓuk (“rotten, mouldy”); cognate with Khmer ពុក (puk, “rotten”), Bahnar bŭk (“rotten”), Proto-Katuic *ʔaɓuk (“rotten”). Related to mốc.

[mʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[mʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[mʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-mục.wav


nữ

(of humans or their reproductive organs only) female


khoái

Sino-Vietnamese word from 快 (“elated, pleased; fast”).


đực

head

đực • (特, 󱙙, 𬌣)

vi-adj

đực • (特, 󱙙, 𬌣)

From Proto-Vietic *dək (“male”); non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 特 (SV: đặc). Compare Thai ถึก (tʉ̀k).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

mèo đực

(of men) đực rựa

Nghĩ sao con gái mà vô ở chung phòng với một bọn đực rựa?

How the hell is it okay for a girl to stay with a roomful of dudes?

(of a non-human and non-avian species of animal or plant or their reproductive organs) male

đực mặt

đứng đực


trôi

head

㵢, 雷, 洡, 󱧞, 𣵶

vi-adj

㵢, 雷, 洡, 󱧞, 𣵶


chất

Sino-Vietnamese word from 質 (“substance/quality”).

vi-etym-sino

Chất quá!


vui

head

盃, 𢝙, 𢠿, 𣡝, 𬐩

vi-adj

盃, 𢝙, 𢠿, 𣡝, 𬐩

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-vui.wav

From Middle Vietnamese ꞗui, from Proto-Vietic *t-puːj (“joyful”); cognate with Muong pui, Tho [Cuối Chăm] puːj¹ and Chut [Rục] təpuːj¹. Compare also Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh dialects bui.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 𬐩, consisting of 司 (MC si) and 盃 (MC pwoj) (modern SV: ti bôi).

niềm vui


đắng

head

đắng • (䔲, 𡃻, 𧃵, 噔) (diminutive reduplication đăng đắng)

䔲 (CJK)
𡃻 (CJK)
𧃵 (CJK)
噔 (CJK)
đăng đắng (diminutive reduplication)

From Proto-Vietic *taŋʔ (“bitter”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kt₂aŋ (“bitter”). Cognate with Bahnar tăng (“bitter”), Pacoh atáng (“bitter”), Khasi kthang (“bitter”), Bolyu tɕaŋ⁵³ and Mon က္တၚ် (kətɛŋ, “bitter”).

Đắng quá, không nuốt được.

It’s too bitter for [me, him, her] to swallow.


sành

sành đồ cổ

sành ăn


điện tử

[ʔɗiən˧˨ʔ tɨ˧˩]

[ʔɗiəŋ˨˩ʔ tɨ˧˨]

[ʔɗiəŋ˨˩˨ tɨ˨˩˦]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 電子, composed of 電 (“electricity”) and 子 (“small thing”), from Japanese 電子 (denshi).

vi-etym-sino

đồ điện tử

trò chơi điện tử


mật

tin mật

(chiefly in compounds) secret; confidential


sôi

head

㵢, 炊, 熣, 𢐝, 𤉚, 𤐝

vi-adj

㵢, 炊, 熣, 𢐝, 𤉚, 𤐝

㵢 (CJK)
炊 (CJK)
熣 (CJK)
𢐝 (CJK)
𤉚 (CJK)
𤐝 (CJK)

From Proto-Vietic *t-ruːj ~ *t-ruːs/*k-luːs. Probably related to sủi (“to bubble”).

nước sôi

nước sôi


ấm

From Proto-Vietic *s-ʔəmʔ (“lukewarm”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(s)ʔəm ~ *(s)ʔəəm ~ *(s)ʔuum ~ *(s)ʔuəm (“warm”). Cognate with Khmer ស្អំ (sʼɑm, “warm”), Kuy səʔam, Khmu [Cuang] hʔɨm. Possibly related to hâm.


bằng

Sino-Vietnamese word from 平 (“level; even”); originally the Northern reading. Its distribution likely already extended beyond Northern Vietnam by the time Vietnamese started to be written down in the Latin script. See also bình, the current chief form used in compounds and the main form in placenames in Southern Vietnam.
The expected reading of the Northern form would be *bềnh, which is unattested. Compare pairs such as bệnh vs. bịnh, nghênh vs. nghinh, lệnh vs. lịnh.
It is sometimes claimed that this form is due to the taboo of the title 北平王 (Bắc Bình/Bằng vương) of Quang Trung, but this is demonstrably false as bàng (as well as bàng an, bàng ien) is attested in Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651), a dictionary based chiefly on the dialects of Northern Vietnam.

vi-etym-sino

(linguistics, poetry, of a tone) being a ngang or huyền tone

(poetry, of a rhyme) carrying a bằng tone

một cộng một bằng hai

góc A và góc B bằng nhau

angle A and angle B are congruent (literally, “angle A and angle B are equal to each other”)

góc A bằng góc B


Ý Đại Lợi

[ʔi˧˦ ʔɗaːj˧˨ʔ ləːj˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɪj˨˩˦ ʔɗaːj˨˩ʔ ləːj˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɪj˦˥ ʔɗaːj˨˩˨ ləːj˨˩˨]


Mông Cổ

[məwŋ͡m˧˧ ko˧˩]

[məwŋ͡m˧˧ kow˨˩˦]


trên

From Proto-Vietic *k-leːɲ. Cognate with Muong Bi tliênh. Related to lên.


自主

chữ Hán form of tự chủ (“independent; self-supporting”).


Anh

Sino-Vietnamese word from 英. As for the country name, contracted from Chinese 英國／英国 (Anh quốc, “United Kingdom”), from Chinese 英 (Anh) (as in Mandarin 英吉利 (Yīngjílì, Anh Cát Lợi, “England”) or 英格蘭／英格兰 (Yīnggélán, Anh Cách Lan, “England”)) + 國／国 (quốc, “country”).

der

<i class="Latn mention" lang="vi">Anh quốc</i>

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-Anh.wav

tiếng Anh Anh
British English

tiếng Anh Anh
British English


興趣

chữ Hán form of hứng thú (“interested”).


傑出

chữ Hán form of kiệt xuất (“outstanding”).


真實

chữ Hán form of chân thật (“honest; truthful”).


有限

chữ Hán form of hữu hạn (“finite; limited”).


同性

chữ Hán form of đồng tính (“homosexual, gay, lesbian”).


具體

chữ Hán form of cụ thể (“specific; concrete; detailed”).


準確

chữ Hán form of chuẩn xác (“accurate; precise”).


獨立

chữ Hán form of độc lập (“independent”).


chắc chắn

[t͡ɕak̚˧˦ t͡ɕan˧˦]

[t͡ɕak̚˦˧˥ t͡ɕaŋ˦˧˥]


勇敢

chữ Hán form of dũng cảm (“brave; courageous”).


sói

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) Synonym of hói


tê

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 痺 (SV: tí).

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

vi-etym-sino

Ui da tê giò.


mềm

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-mềm.wav

Also a semantic loan from English soft in soft copy.

mềm dẻo

mềm yếu

ổ đĩa mềm


親愛

chữ Hán form of thân ái (“affectionate; dear”).


反動

chữ Hán form of phản động (“reactionary”).


無政府

chữ Hán form of vô chính phủ (“anarchic”).


全面

chữ Hán form of toàn diện (“thorough; all-round”).


thứ ba

[tʰɨ˧˦ ʔɓaː˧˧]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ ʔɓaː˧˧]

[tʰɨ˦˥ ʔɓaː˧˧]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thứ ba.wav

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-thứ ba.wav

From thứ (“-th”) + ba (“three”).
As a name of weekday, calque of Portuguese terça-feira (“Tuesday”, literally “third weekday”).


thứ năm

[tʰɨ˧˦ nam˧˧]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ nam˧˧]

[tʰɨ˦˥ nam˧˧]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thứ năm.wav

thứ + năm.
As a name of weekday, calque of Portuguese quinta-feira (“Thursday”, literally “fifth weekday”).


thứ sáu

[tʰɨ˧˦ saw˧˦]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ ʂaw˨˩˦]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ saw˨˩˦]

[tʰɨ˦˥ ʂa(ː)w˦˥]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thứ sáu.wav

thứ + sáu.
As a name of weekday, calque of Portuguese sexta-feira (“Friday”, literally “sixth weekday”).


thứ hai

[tʰɨ˧˦ haːj˧˧]

[tʰɨ˨˩˦ haːj˧˧]

[tʰɨ˦˥ haːj˧˧]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-thứ hai.wav

From thứ (“-th”) + hai (“two”). "Second" could also be, less frequently, thứ nhì.
As a name of weekday, calque of Portuguese segunda-feira (“Monday”, literally “second week day”).


公平

chữ Hán form of công bình (“just; fair”).


生育

chữ Hán form of sinh dục (“reproductive”).


艱難

chữ Hán form of gian nan (“miserably hard; difficult; tough”).


光明

chữ Hán form of quang minh (“open; bright; radiant; righteous; magnanimous”).


hư

(Southern Vietnam) corrupt, decayed, rotten, spoiled, damaged

(of teenagers, children) bad; misbehaving; mischievous; disobedient


độc

Sino-Vietnamese word from 毒. See also thuốc.

[ʔɗəwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗəwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗəwk͡p̚˨˩˨]

chất độc

nọc độc

rắn độc


độc

[ʔɗəwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʔɗəwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʔɗəwk͡p̚˨˩˨]

hàng độc


diệu

(rarely used alone) effective, marvellous, wonderful


sắc

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-sắc.wav

thanh sắc

the phonemic tone as in the word sắc; either of the phonetic tones as in the words sắc (a checked tone) and sắn

sắc sảo

(Northern Vietnam) sharp (able to cut easily)


tục

[tʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[tʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[tʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 俗 (“custom; vulgar”).

vi-etym-sino

Cái thằng tục vãi! Thôi dẹp đi mày!

You lewd son of a gun! Get your mind out of the gutter!


bức

Trời bức lắm, có lẽ sắp mưa.

The sky is unsettled; it must be about to rain.

Không có lấy một chút gió nhẹ cho đỡ bức.

1957, Đoàn Giỏi, chapter 4, in Đất rừng phương Nam, Kim Đồng:

There was not the slightest bit of wind to dispel the heat.


khổ

Sino-Vietnamese word from 苦. Doublet of khó.

Những người cùng/khốn khổ


ích kỉ

[ʔïk̟̚˧˦ ki˧˩]

[ʔɨt̚˦˧˥ kɪj˧˨]

[ʔɨt̚˦˥ kɪj˨˩˦]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 益 (“benefit”) and 己 (“self”).


duyên dáng

[jwiəŋ˧˧ jaːŋ˦˧˥]

[j⁽ʷ⁾iəŋ˧˧ jaːŋ˦˥]


bĩ

(only in compounds) unlucky, unfortunate


tợn

For the "really, so, very" sense, compare the similar development as in dữ.


câm

For the sense of "orthographically silent", a semantic loan from French muet.

Mặc dù trong tiếng Pháp ta có từ "h aspiré" (tức "âm h bật hơi"), chữ "h" của tiếng Pháp luôn luôn câm.

Even though there's this thing called the "aspirated h" in French, the French letter "h" is always silent.

kịch câm


thiu

cơm thiu


choắt

[t͡ɕwak̚˦˧˥]

1941, Tô Hoài, Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu Ký (Adventures of a Cricket), Ch. 1

Neighboring mine was the cave belonging to Scrawny Cricket. Scrawny Cricket was a mocking and condescending nickname I called him.

Bên hàng xóm tôi có cái hang của Dế Choắt. Dế Choắt là tên tôi đặt cho nó một cách chế diễu và trịch thượng thế.


chót

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 卒 (SV: tốt). Compare chốt, trót, chợt.

der

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

vi-etym-sino

hạn chót


thính

Sino-Vietnamese word from 聽 (“to listen”).
Its Middle Chinese ancestor 聽 (MC theng) "to listen" would have yielded regularly SV reflex **thinh; this attested reflex, with sắc-tone (which suggests a Middle Chinese ancestor with departing tone & unvoiced initial), possibly has arisen from confusion with 聽 (MC thengH) "to administer, to adjudicate", which had departing tone.

thính mũi


trại

Likely related to lái (in nói lái (“to switch around sounds”)).

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-trại.wav

trại chân


chắc

head

聀, 仄, 𢟘, 職, 礩

vi-adj

聀, 仄, 𢟘, 職, 礩

Chắc hông?

Chắc mà!


biệt

Sino-Vietnamese word from 別 (“to divide; to leave; special”).


âm

ngày âm

(occult) having "yin" characteristics, as in "dark", "lunar" or "feminine"

điện âm


ôi

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *sʔuj; cognate with Mon သ္အဲု (ui, “to be rotten, putrid”) ~ Khmer ស្អុយ (sʼoy, “putrid, to stink”).

thịt ôi


liệt

From Middle Vietnamese liẹt, Middle Vietnamese blẹt.


chướng

unsightly; ugly; distasteful (especially in appearance)


chướng

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 脹 (“to swell”, SV: trướng).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

chướng bụng

Alternative form of trướng (“swollen; bloated”)


mượt

xanh mượt


hủ

(only in compounds) old-fashioned, narrow-minded


mắc

From Proto-Vietic *ɓak, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *[d]ɓak ~ *[d]ɓaak. Cognate with Muong bắc, Chut [Sách] kəbak⁷, Mang ɓak⁷, Eastern Bru ʔa.bak, Bahnar tơʼbăk, Khmer ពាក់ (pĕək).

(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) expensive; dear


câng

(colloquial) impudent; insolent; shameless and obnoxious


dương

ngày dương

(occult) having "yang" characteristics, such as "bright", "solar" or "masculine"


điêu

Người đâu mà điêu ngoa !

Đừng có điêu ! Không đời nào mày làm nổi !

(chiefly Northern Vietnam) habitually dishonest; very inclined to lie


địa phương

[ʔɗiə˧˨ʔ fɨəŋ˧˧]

[ʔɗiə˨˩ʔ fɨəŋ˧˧]

[ʔɗiə˨˩˨ fɨəŋ˧˧]


gắt

ngọt gắt

(of taste and sunshine) strong and/or harsh


mộc

[məwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[məwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[məwk͡p̚˨˩˨]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 木 (“tree; wood”).

mặt mộc

(in certain phrases and expressions) plain


thấp

Sino-Vietnamese word from 隰 (“low wetland”).


điệu

Chim thiên đường có lẽ là loài chim "điệu" nhất thế giới.

The bird of paradise is perhaps the "showiest" bird in the world.

Trang điểm gì lâu thế ? Mình đi ăn cơm, không cần phải điệu thế đâu!

Why are you taking so long with your makeup? We're going to eat out, you don't have to get all dolled up (literally, “you don't need to be that gaudy”)!

(humorous or disapproving) showy, flashy, flamboyant, gaudy, ostentatious


kế

mẹ kế

vợ kế

(of a woman) replacing another woman in a family


xót

(usually of a body part) be hurt, be in pain


gốc

[ɣəwk͡p̚˦˧˥]

Tài liệu gốc hiện được lưu giữ tại Bảo tàng Quốc gia.

The original document is currently kept at the National Museum.


bạo

(in compounds) ferocious; cruel; violent


oách

Mặc bộ này cho oách.

Put these on, you'll look smart in them.


sỏi

(colloquial) accustomed to; acquainted with


rách

head

𦀍, 𧙼, 𧛊, 𧝦, 𧞿

vi-adj

𦀍, 𧙼, 𧛊, 𧝦, 𧞿


nhàu

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɲuʔ ~ *ɲuəʔ (“wrinkled, furrowed”); cognate with Khmer ខ្ញូវ (khñəw) (in ខ្ញីវខ្ញូវ (khñəywkhñəw)) and Mon ခညောအ် (həɲɒʔ).

cog

Mon ခညောအ် (həɲɒʔ)


phụ

Sino-Vietnamese word from 輔 (“to assist”).

vi-etym-sino

Việc chính là học hành, còn câu lạc bộ chỉ là việc phụ thôi.

Your main task is to study, your club activities are secondary.


thực

Sino-Vietnamese word from 實, perhaps a southern misreading of thật where the final /t/ was swapped out for the /k/, typical of the southern tendency to swap out final alveolars for velars. Compare the readings of 日 (nhật, nhựt). Doublet of thật and thiệt.


chúa

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 主 (“lord”, SV: chủ), also used as a Sino-Vietnamese syllable in a few compounds. Doublet of chủ (“master; owner”).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

ong chúa

ăn mặc chúa

Về toán thì nó chúa lắm.


cơ

Sino-Vietnamese word from 機 (“machine; apparatus; device”)


bổ

Sino-Vietnamese word from 補 (“to supplement”).

thuốc bổ

bổ phổi/phế

bổ máu/huyết

(of activities) vô bổ

(of food, drink or nutritional supplements, compatible with following Sino-Vietnamese elements) healthy; wholesome

drink or nutritional supplements; compatible with following Sino-Vietnamese elements; drink or nutritional supplements; compatible with following Sino-Vietnamese elements


lương

Người giáo trong xứ đã nghĩ đến việc xây lại nhà thờ. Đoàn thể chính quyền và người lương trong xã hứa sẽ giúp thêm gỗ đá.

1954 December 19, “Chị Trinh đã thấy sự thực [Miss Trinh has seen the truth]”, in Cứu Quốc [National Salvation], number 2684:

Christians in the parish had thought about rebuilding the church. The commune's government and non-Christians promised to contribute wood and stones.

(dated or only in compounds) non-Christian


thợ

kiến thợ


ngoan

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 愿 (“honest and cautious”, SV: nguyện).

der

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

vi-etym-sino

Tôi đã dặn nó thỉnh thoảng phải bảo trẻ nhỏ ra ném sấu ngoài phố, không thì để nhà cửa cho rõ bẩn thỉu, cống rãnh cho nó ngập lụt, cho thầy mintoa thỉnh thoảng biên phạt, thì tôi mới có dịp phạt lại vợ thầy ấy, thế mà nó cứ để con tôi ngoan như bụt, nhà cửa sạch như lau, như chùi !

1936, Vũ Trọng Phụng, chapter 2, in Số đỏ, Hà Nội báo:

I told her to, now and then, tell the children to to outside and throw dracontomelum out in the street, or else to leave the house obviously dirty or to let the sewer flow over, that Mr Mille Trois can sometimes write her fines — which will give me an opportunity to fine his wife back — but she keeps the children well-behaved like angels and the house clean like a mop!

Ba mẹ là lá chắn, che chở suốt đời con.
Vì con là con ba, con của ba rất ngoan.
Vì con là con mẹ, con của me rất hiền.

1985, “Cho Con [For You, Child]”, Tuấn Dũng (lyrics), Phạm Trọng Cầu (music)performed by Mộng Thi:

Dad and Mom are the shields, safeguarding you your whole life long.
 For you are Dad's child, very well-behaved and well-mannered.
For you are Mom's child, very meek and mild.

good; well-behaved; well-mannered; submissive


nguyên

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-nguyên.wav

nguyên thuỷ

(mythology, religion) primordial; primitive

Tiền mày gửi vẫn còn nguyên.

số nguyên

phần nguyên


đơn

Nhà đơn người.


công

Sino-Vietnamese word from 公 (“public; common; duke”).

việc công

trường công

(formal or of a school) public or state-owned


siêu

Cậu siêu quá đi!

(informal, of a person) outstanding; very good


bệch

[ʔɓəjk̟̚˧˨ʔ]

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 白 (SV: bạch).

der

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


bịch

head

bịch (diminutive reduplication bình bịch)

(onomatopoeia) a thudding noise from a heavy object flopping over


xảo

(chiefly in compounds, neologism) cunning; crafty


điên

điên (diminutive reduplication điên điên)


tạm

Sino-Vietnamese word from 暫 (“temporary”).


trắc

Sino-Vietnamese word from 仄 (“oblique”).

(phonology, poetry, of a tone) oblique (involving a rising or falling contour)

(phonology, poetry, of a tone) being neither the ngang nor huyền tone

(poetry, of a rhyme) carrying a trắc tone


cự

Sino-Vietnamese word from 巨, doublet of cồ.


cục

[kʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]

[kʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]

[kʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨]