bật

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bat"

Vietnamese

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “I have seen the proposal that this word is a byform of the predecessor form of trật (< earlier onset *b-l-). While the sound shift is not unheard of (cf. modern mác, from Middle Vietnamese mlác), I'm not too sure the two words can be connected so readily. The fact that this word is so strangely absent from most Nôm texts (for a common verb) do favor the hypothesis that it's a rather recent byform though.”

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓət̚˧˨ʔ]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓək̚˨˩ʔ]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓək̚˨˩˨]

Verb

bật • (弼)

(intransitive) to bounce off; to bounce back
Trái banh nó quăng bật thẳng lại vô mặt nó.
The ball that he threw bounced right back into his own face.
(transitive) to snap; to switch on (lights)
Antonym: tắt

Phòng sao tối um vậy? Ai bật đèn lên coi?
This room is pitch-black, can someone just turn the light on?
(intransitive) to feature prominently
điều đó làm bật lên một vấn đề khác ― that just highlights another problem
to do something suddenly
bật khóc ― to suddenly break into tears