nkhaus

White Hmong

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong *ŋkhuwᴰ (“crooked”); compare Middle Chinese 曲 (MC khjowk, “to bend; crooked”), Tibetan འགུགས ('gugs, “id”), and Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buŋkuk (“id”), though the tone in Hmongic suggests a final *-p or *-t, rather than a *-k.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ᵑkʰau̯˩/

Adjective

nkhaus

1. bent, crooked, curled, curved
2. not straightforward, dishonest

Derived terms

• siab nkhaus (“crooked, dishonest”)

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[1], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 156.