tỏi

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Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese (garlic, SV: toán).

Compare Nong Zhuang soiq (garlic). To account for the glide reflex in both languages, the borrowed Sinitic word was probably a dialectal form where earlier *-r-s shifted to *-jH instead of the typical *-nH (if the word was borrowed independently when the liquid still presented, Vietnamese would have *-j while Nong Zhuang would have *-n). However, it is also possible that there was borrowing involved: if the direction was Vietic > Tai, the Chinese form could be an early form with *-r-s (> *-lʰ > -jC) or a later form with *-jH; if the direction was Tai > Vietic, the borrowed Sinitic form must be *-jH.

See also tươi, from Chinese , with *-j.

Noun

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(classifier củ, cây) tỏi (, )

  1. garlic
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Adjective

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tỏi

  1. (colloquial) to die