Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese (SV: phá), borrowed from a form when monophthongization had not yet taken place in Chinese, but is likely later than the borrowing of ngài (moth) and mài (to grind), which have [-aːj].

Cognate with Iu Mien paaix, also preserved the diphthong. Doublet of phá.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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phay (, , )

  1. to chop; to cut open

Derived terms

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