mẫu tự
Vietnamese edit
Etymology edit
Sino-Vietnamese word from 母字, composed of 母 (“mother”) and 字 (“character”), anagram and misconstruction of Chinese 字母 (tự mẫu), perhaps due to the influence of chữ cái. Compare the case of có mặt (native compound) and hiện diện (its sinicized internal calque counterpart).
Pronunciation edit
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [məw˦ˀ˥ tɨ˧˨ʔ]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [məw˧˨ tɨ˨˩ʔ]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [məw˨˩˦ tɨ˨˩˨]
Noun edit
- (formal, orthography) letter
- Synonym: chữ cái