họa mi

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Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Sino-Vietnamese word from 畫眉.

The second element means eyebrow, but often realized by folk etymology as meaning eyelashes (see Vietnamese mi).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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họa mi

  1. the Garrulax canorus, the hwamei, a bird native to southeastern and central China as well as northern Laos and Vietnam
  2. (colloquial, slang) the penis, male genitalia

Usage notes

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It is sometimes used to translate (e.g. by Nguyễn & Vũ, 1986[1]) English nightingale (& cognates like Danish nattergal), whose correct translation is dạ oanh. As a result, a few biligual dictionaries accept the usage of họa mi to translate English nightingale.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ Andersen, Hans Christian (author) (1843). "Nattergalen". (1986) Vietnamese translation by Nguyễn Văn Hải & Vũ Minh Toàn.
  2. ^ Phan, Văn Giường (2014) Tuttle Concise Vietnamese Dictionary: Vietnamese-English English-Vietnamese. p. 138
  3. ^ Cambridge English-Vietnamese dictionary. Entry "nightingale"