ngón tay cái

Vietnamese

Etymology

ngón tay (“finger”) +‎ cái (“female; big, main”). Compare Chinese 拇指 (mǔzhǐ) < 拇 (mǔ, “thumb”) < 母 (mǔ, “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˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ŋɔŋ˦˥ ta(ː)j˧˧ kaːj˦˥]

Noun

ngón tay cái

1. thumb