ka-mú-tī

Hokkien

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog kamote (“sweet potato; act of performing badly on a task”), from Mexican Spanish camote (“sweet potato”), from Classical Nahuatl camohtli (“sweet potato”).

Pronunciation

• (Hokkien: Philippines)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ka-mú-tī
  • Tâi-lô: ka-mú-tī
  • Phofsit Daibuun: kamw'di
  • IPA (Philippines): /ka³³ mu⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ ti⁴¹/

Noun

ka-mú-tī

1. (Philippines) sweet potato
2. (Philippines, slang) fool; idiot; dimwit; simpleton; dunce

Usage notes

• Disclaimer: This term is mainly spoken by Philippine Hokkien speakers, who historically mostly did not write in POJ romanization, but this entry is named so for the purpose of phonetically transcribing Philippine Hokkien which is usually mostly spoken orally, especially loanwords or terms where the Chinese characters to write them may be unattested and/or ambiguous to identify.

Synonyms

• tōa-han-chî