bà chằn

See also: bachan

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• bà chằng

Etymology

The sense "ferocious woman" was likely due to the word being treated as if it is a compound of bà (“old woman, old lady”) +‎ chằn (“ogre”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˨˩ t͡ɕan˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˦˩ t͡ɕaŋ˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˨˩ caŋ˨˩]

Noun

(classifier con) bà chằn

1. a type of slug
2. (colloquial, Southern Vietnam, can be offensive) a ferocious woman

   Synonym: bà chằn lửa