mã tà

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• ma tà

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps from Malay mata(-mata) (“police”) or from French matraque. Compare Min Nan 馬打／马打 (má-tâ), Thai หมาต๋า (mǎa-dtǎa).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maː˦ˀ˥ taː˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maː˧˨ taː˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [maː˨˩˦ taː˨˩]

Noun

mã tà

1. (Southern Vietnam, historical) policeman during the French colonial period