động cơ

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 動機. The sense "motive; intent" is from Japanese 動機 (dōki, “motive”)

Pronunciation

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

Noun

động cơ

1. state of someone's mind when committing a crime; motive, intent

   động cơ gây án ― one's motive for committing a crime

2. (machinery) motor; engine