nghèo nàn

Vietnamese

Etymology

nghèo +‎ nàn, the second syllable is non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 難 (SV: nan), also seen in phàn nàn.

Aside from these two compounds, nàn seems to be obsolete. The Dictionarium Anamitico-Latinum (1838) lists further compounds gặp nàn and phải nàn, both obsolete.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ŋɛw˨˩ naːn˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ŋɛw˦˩ naːŋ˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ŋɛw˨˩ naːŋ˨˩]

Adjective

nghèo nàn

1. poor; needy; poverty-stricken (generally speaking)