See also: yêu and yếu

Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Sino-Vietnamese word from (to die young, to die prematurely). The hỏi tone of SV yểu results regularly from the voiceless stop initial & rising tone of late Middle Chinese *ʔˠiɛuX. Compare yếu, an earlier borrowing from when Middle Chinese tone 上声 corresponded to Vietnamese tones B (sắc and nặng).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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yểu

  1. premature