khai chiến

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 開戰, composed of 開 (“start”) and 戰 (“war”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xaːj˧˧ t͡ɕiən˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰaːj˧˧ t͡ɕiəŋ˦˧˥] ~ [xaːj˧˧ t͡ɕiəŋ˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kʰaːj˧˧ ciəŋ˦˥] ~ [xaːj˧˧ ciəŋ˦˥]

Verb

khai chiến

1. (literary) to start a fight or a war

   hai nước bắt đầu khai chiến ― the two countries begin to start the war