cá sấu

See also: casáu

Vietnamese

Cá sấu

Etymology

cá (“fish”) + sấu (“crocodile”).

Not etymologically related to xấu (“ugly”), which is sometimes considered as connected due to folk etymology.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˦ səw˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaː˨˩˦ ʂəw˨˩˦] ~ [kaː˨˩˦ səw˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kaː˦˥ ʂəw˦˥] ~ [kaː˦˥ səw˦˥]

Noun

(classifier con) cá sấu • (个/𩵜 + 䱸/𩽉/𩽤)

1. crocodile
2. (by extension) crocodilian
3. (figurative, slang, a play on sấu ~ xấu (“ugly”)) ugly person