ba ba

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

(hypercorrection) baba

Etymology

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₁paʔ (“turtle”). Cognate with Proto-Bahnaric *tpaː (“turtle”) (whence Bahnar tơpa), Proto-Katuic *tpaa (“soft-shelled turtle”), Samre m̩pʰaː, Khmu [Cuang] tmpaʔ and Mang maː¹ paː². Compare Proto-Austronesian *qaCipa (“soft-shelled turtle”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) ba ba

(zoology) soft-shell turtle

Usage notes

Sometimes spelled baba due to incorrect assumption that this is a recent loanword.

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