rau câu

Vietnamese

Etymology

From rau (“leaf vegetable”) +‎ câu (“*the name of the plant”). The term was originally used to refer to plants of the genus Gracilaria, and later to jelly. It is possible that these plants are a source of agar - a gelatin substitute in jelly.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaw˧˧ kəw˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʐaw˧˧ kəw˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɹa(ː)w˧˧ kəw˧˧]

Noun

rau câu

(Southern Vietnam) jelly (dessert)
(botany) Gracilaria

Synonyms

thạch