tỏi - Wikiwand

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tɔj˧˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [tɔj˧˨]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [tɔj˨˩˦]

Etymology 1

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 蒜 (“garlic”, SV: toán).

Compare Nong Zhuang soiq (“garlic”). To account for the glide reflex in both languages, the borrowed Sinitic word was probably a dialectal form where earlier *-r-s shifted to *-jH instead of the typical *-nH (if the word was borrowed independently when the liquid still presented, Vietnamese would have *-j while Nong Zhuang would have *-n). However, it is also possible that there was borrowing involved: if the direction was Vietic > Tai, the Chinese form could be an early form with *-r-s (> *-lʰ > -jC) or a later form with *-jH; if the direction was Tai > Vietic, the borrowed Sinitic form must be *-jH.

See also tươi, from Chinese 鮮 / 鲜, with modern -j.

Noun

(classifier củ, cây) tỏi • (蒜, 𬞚, 蕞, 碎)

garlic

Derived terms

hành tỏi
tỏi tây

Etymology 2

Adjective

tỏi

(colloquial) to die

Etymology 3

Labialization of tỉ (“billion”).

Noun

tỏi

(slang) one billion dongs