sâu đo

Vietnamese

Etymology

sâu (“worm”) +‎ đo (“to measure”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [səw˧˧ ʔɗɔ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʂəw˧˧ ʔɗɔ˧˧] ~ [səw˧˧ ʔɗɔ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʂəw˧˧ ʔɗɔ˧˧] ~ [səw˧˧ ʔɗɔ˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) sâu đo

1. looper caterpillar

   Synonyms: sâu đo gang, sâu ba gang

Trivia

• It is a common myth among Vietnamese children that if someone lets a looper caterpillar crawls on their body for the length of 3 loops (or 3 handspans), they would die.