hắn

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• hấn

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *hanʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(ʔ)anʔ ~ *ʔən; cognate with Car Nicobarese an (“he, she, it”), Pacoh án (“relative pronoun, that, which”).

Insertion of initial *h in Vietic can also be seen in *tŋ-ʔaːm (“jaw”) (> Vietnamese hàm, Late Vietic), *huːɲ (“to kiss”) (> Vietnamese hôn), *heːt (“finished”) (> Vietnamese hết), *haːr (“two”) (> Vietnamese hai), *hɔːŋʔ (“river, brook”), *haːŋʔ (“to open (mouth)”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [han˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [haŋ˦˧˥]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [haŋ˦˥]

Pronoun

hắn • (罕, 漢, 釁)

1. (archaic as a neutral pronoun in Northern and Southern dialects, familiar or informal in Central Vietnam) he/him; she/her

   Đi kêu hắn về cho tau!

   Go get him back here!

   Tụi hắn cứ đánh chắc hoài!

   Those idiots keep fighting again and again!

2. (derogatory in Northern and Southern dialects) he/him
3. (informal, endearing) he/him, my boyfriend
4. (informal, endearing) he/him, your boyfriend

See also

• y; nhỏ