cá nhà táng

Vietnamese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from the head shape of the sperm whale?”)

Probably from cá (“fish”) +‎ nhà táng (“a kind of structure, placed above a coffin”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˦ ɲaː˨˩ taːŋ˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [kaː˨˩˦ ɲaː˦˩ taːŋ˦˧˥]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [kaː˦˥ ɲaː˨˩ taːŋ˦˥]

Noun

(classifier con) cá nhà táng

sperm whale