lái xe

Vietnamese

Etymology

lái +‎ xe, ultimately from Old Chinese 舵 (OC *l'aːlʔ) (ZS) (SV: đà) and 車 (OC *kʰlja) (ZS) (SV: xa) respectively; doublet of tài xế (“driver”), a late borrowing from Cantonese.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laːj˧˦ sɛ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laːj˨˩˦ sɛ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [laːj˦˥ sɛ˧˧]

Verb

lái xe

1. to drive a car (or any vehicle)

Noun

lái xe

1. driver