Vietnamese

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Etymology

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ngón tay (finger) +‎ cái (female; big, main). Compare Chinese 拇指 (mǔzhǐ) < (, “thumb”) < (, “mother”), Khmer មេដៃ (mei day), Thai หัวแม่มือ (hǔua-mɛ̂ɛ-mʉʉ), Malay ibu jari.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ngón tay cái

  1. thumb