sờ nặng

Vietnamese

Etymology

sờ (“ess”) +‎ nặng (“heavy”). Since ‹s› properly represents a retroflex /ʂ/ which feels "heavy" as opposed to an alveolar /s/ represented by ‹x›, this name may be used by those (usually northerners) who don't distinguish the two sounds to distinguish the two letters in writing.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [səː˨˩ naŋ˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʂəː˦˩ naŋ˨˩ʔ] ~ [səː˦˩ naŋ˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʂəː˨˩ naŋ˨˩˨] ~ [səː˨˩ naŋ˨˩˨]

Noun

sờ nặng

1. (informal) The name of the Latin-script letter S/s.

   Synonym: ét-sì

   Antonym: xờ nhẹ