họa mi
Vietnamese edit
Etymology edit
Sino-Vietnamese word from 畫眉.
The second element means eyebrow, but often realized by folk etymology as meaning eyelashes (see Vietnamese mi).
Pronunciation edit
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [hwaː˧˨ʔ mi˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [hwaː˨˩ʔ mɪj˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [waː˨˩˨ mɪj˧˧]
Noun edit
- the Garrulax canorus, the hwamei, a bird native to southeastern and central China as well as northern Laos and Vietnam
- (colloquial, slang) the penis, male genitalia
Usage notes edit
It is sometimes used to translate (e.g. by Nguyễn & Vũ, 1986[1]) English nightingale (& cognates like Danish nattergal), whose correct translation is dạ oanh. As a result, a few biligual dictionaries accept the usage of họa mi to translate English nightingale.[2][3]
References edit
- ^ Andersen, Hans Christian (author) (1843). "Nattergalen". (1986) Vietnamese translation by Nguyễn Văn Hải & Vũ Minh Toàn.
- ^ Phan, Văn Giường (2014) Tuttle Concise Vietnamese Dictionary: Vietnamese-English English-Vietnamese. p. 138
- ^ Cambridge English-Vietnamese dictionary. Entry "nightingale"