phay

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 破 (SV: phá), borrowed from a form when monophthongization had not yet taken place in Chinese, but is likely later than the borrowing of ngài (“moth”) and mài (“to grind”), which have [-aːj].

Cognate with Iu Mien paaix, also preserved the diphthong. Doublet of phá.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [faj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [faj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [fa(ː)j˧˧]

Verb

phay • (非, 棑, 㓟)

1. to chop; to cut open

Derived terms

• xé phay
• dao phay (“cleaver”)