bệt

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bet"

Vietnamese

Etymology

Attested as blẹt in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651) (the ‹e› is simply due to de Rhodes's orthography, the vowel was [e], not [ɛ]). Cognate with Vietnamese trệt.

This is one of the cases where medial -l- was lost. Compare Middle Vietnamese mlác (> mác), blỉu (> bỉu).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓet̚˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓet̚˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓəːt̚˨˩˨]

Adverb

bệt • (別)

1. sitting or lying flat or close to the ground, with little intervening as support

   cà phê bệt ― sitting plump on the ground and enjoying coffee