sơ khai
Vietnamese edit
Etymology edit
Sino-Vietnamese word from 初 (“beginning”) and 開 (“to start; to open”), calque of Chinese 開初/开初 (khai sơ, “originally; early”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [səː˧˧ xaːj˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʂəː˧˧ kʰaːj˧˧] ~ [səː˧˧ xaːj˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʂəː˧˧ kʰaːj˧˧] ~ [səː˧˧ xaːj˧˧]
Adjective edit
- initial; primordial; original; early
- Trái Đất sơ khai ― Primordial Earth
- Tế bào sơ khai ― The Protocell (the original cell)
Noun edit
- (figurative) a stub (as an early, incomplete composition)