ngón tay cái

Vietnamese

Etymology

ngón tay (finger) +‎ cái (female; big, main). Compare Chinese 拇指 (mǔzhǐ) < (, “thumb”) < (, “mother”), Khmer មេដៃ (mei day), Thai หัวแม่มือ (hǔua-mɛ̂ɛ-mʉʉ), Malay ibu jari.

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ŋɔn˧˦ taj˧˧ kaːj˧˦]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ŋɔŋ˦˧˥ taj˧˧ kaːj˨˩˦]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [ŋɔŋ˦˥ ta(ː)j˧˧ kaːj˦˥]

Noun

ngón tay cái

  1. thumb