xe cộ

Vietnamese

Etymology

From xe (“vehicle”) +‎ cộ (“a kind of buffalo/cattle-driven wheelless vehicle”).

The use of presumably synonymous elements conveys genericity or plurality. Compare rừng rú, muông thú.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sɛ˧˧ ko˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [sɛ˧˧ kow˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [sɛ˧˧ kow˨˩˨]

Noun

xe cộ • (車 + 椇/𨍄/𤚦)

1. (collective) vehicles