Đồng Nai

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Vietnamese Đồng Nai.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɒŋnaɪ/

Proper noun

Đồng Nai

1. A province of Vietnam.

Translations

province of Vietnam

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 同奈 (Tóngnài)

• Vietnamese: Đồng Nai (vi)

Vietnamese

Etymology

Per folk/surface etymology, from đồng (“field”) +‎ nai (“deer”), literally “Field of Deer”. Alternatively, from the Mạ word for "river" (comparable to Koho ɗəːŋ) and the word nai above, if so, originally referred to the Đồng Nai River.

Even if the surface etymology is faulty, it was popular enough that 鹿野 (Lộc Dã) became one of the tên chữ (“literary name”) of the region. See also Đồng Xoài and Đồng Tháp, although it is not clear if the Đồng there are related to that of Đồng Nai (or even to each other) or not.

Compare also Hố Nai (literally “Deer Pit”) (at least superficially), the name of a ward of Biên Hoà, the capital city of Đồng Nai, and a likely related toponym.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɗəwŋ͡m˨˩ naːj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɗəwŋ͡m˦˩ naːj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɗəwŋ͡m˨˩ naːj˧˧]

Proper noun

Đồng Nai

1. Đồng Nai (a province of Vietnam)

Derived terms

• sông Đồng Nai

 

Descendants

• → English: Đồng Nai