Chapter 11 - Vietnamese and Chinese Cognates in Basic Vocabulary Stratum

Executive Summary

1. Reframing Vietnamese linguistic identity
   Vietnamese linguistic identity cannot be understood in isolation from its long and complex interaction with Chinese. While the language retains a native Austroasiatic foundation, centuries of contact have layered it with Sinitic elements that shape its vocabulary, phonology, and literary traditions. The result is a hybrid system in which indigenous and borrowed forms coexist, often in complementary roles.
2. Chinese basic words
   At the substratal level, Vietnamese shares a number of basic cognates with Sino‑Tibetan, reflecting deep historical connections across southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. These words anchor the language in its Austroasiatic heritage while also showing traces of early contact with Chinese. They form the bedrock of daily speech and cultural expression, linking Vietnamese to a broader linguistic ecology.
3. Sino-Vietnamese words revisited
   The Sino‑Vietnamese layer, comprising roughly two‑thirds of the lexicon, represents a systematic borrowing from Middle Chinese. These words were adapted into Vietnamese phonology and tonal categories, stabilizing after the tenth century. Their structure preserves Tang‑era rhyming and tonal matrices, which explains why Tang poetry remains accessible in Vietnamese literary circles. Much like Latin in English, Sino‑Vietnamese provides a learned, elevated register that is instantly recognizable to native speakers.
4. Sinitic-Vietnamese words reviewed
   Beyond the formal Sino‑Vietnamese stratum lies a class of Sinitic‑Vietnamese words that have been fully localized. Some predate Middle Chinese borrowings, while others are innovative variants that diverge semantically or phonetically from their sources. They function as naturalized elements of the vernacular, often indistinguishable from native words. Together with the Sino‑Vietnamese layer, they demonstrate the depth of Chinese influence on Vietnamese, while also highlighting the creative processes of adaptation, localization, and semantic shift that define the language’s unique identity.

x X x

Chapter 11 dismantles the prevailing myth of Vietnamese linguistic origin, the Mon‑Khmer hypothesis, and proposes a categorical realignment. Rather than tracing Vietnamese to a distant Austroasiatic ancestry, the chapter situates it within a continuum of deep entanglement with Sino‑Tibetan systems. It argues that the Vietnamese basic lexicon – terms for kinship, anatomy, natural elements, and daily life – is overwhelmingly cognate with Old and Middle Chinese etyma, not peripheral Mon‑Khmer roots.

This reframing begins with a decisive shift: Vietnamese is not a language sprinkled with borrowed Chinese terms, but one structurally aligned with Sinitic syntax, phonology, and semantics. The author critiques Western scholars’ fixation on genetic lineage, likening it to insisting the French speak Gaulish instead of recognizing French as a Romance language. Vietnamese, similarly, has evolved through centuries of contact, migration, and imperial integration—especially during the Ming occupation (1407–1427), when Chinese functioned as the language of administration and scholarship.

The chapter challenges the Mon‑Khmer camp’s reliance on surface-level wordlists devoid of historical phonological reconstruction. It juxtaposes Nguyễn Ngọc San’s examples with plausible Chinese cognates, revealing that many so-called Mon‑Khmer roots are more convincingly explained through Sinitic etymology. Comparative tables align Vietnamese terms with Mon‑Khmer, Tai‑Kadai, and Old Chinese equivalents, consistently demonstrating that the strongest cognacy lies with Chinese.

In this light, this chapter marks a turning point in the Sinitic-Vietnamese thesis. It shifts the inquiry from speculative ancestry to linguistic substance, asserting that Vietnamese belongs – structurally, semantically, and historically – within the Sinitic family. Annotated examples, etymological grids, and historical scaffolding lay the foundation for a paradigm shift in Vietnamese classification.

Crucially, the argument does not claim that Vietnamese directly evolved from a Sino‑Tibetan root. Instead, from a historical and anthropological perspective, the Vietnamese forebears are believed to have originated in southern China. As shown in the previous chapter, Vietnamese shares a vast body of basic vocabulary with Sino‑Tibetan etyma.

At a deeper level, the question is not what root a language once sprang from, but where it belongs categorically. What matters is how a language presents itself as a system – its defining traits integrated into a coherent whole. For our purpose, identifying the true nature of Vietnamese means recognizing its resemblance to other Chinese languages, rather than metaphorically digging a trench in a tunnel that already blocks the northern light.

The theorization of a genetic link to the Austroasiatic Mon‑Khmer family, if it existed at all, belongs to a remote prehistory. Western scholars who remain attached to the Mon‑Khmer hypothesis might consider the case of the French: they do not speak Gaulish, but French – a Romance language, akin to Italian or Spanish. By analogy, the Vietnamese do not speak an extant aboriginal Yue tongue, but a language that has long shared basic vocabulary with multiple roots, including Sino‑Tibetan, since antiquity.

I) Reframing Vietnamese linguistic identity

In so far as research on the origin of Vietnamese is concerned, if it relies solely on analysis of basic cognates with a handful of Mon‑Khmer words, such an approach cannot nullify the overwhelming commonalities between Chinese and Vietnamese across virtually all linguistic aspects, not limited to vocabulary alone. Specialists of Vietnamese may still pursue other paths by justifying cognates within a wider etymological spectrum that spans Sino‑Tibetan, Chinese, and Mon‑Khmer elements.

For the time being, whatever progress the Mon‑Khmer camp may achieve, their elements can only be regarded as a taxonomical scheme for Vietnamese unless the Sino‑Tibetan etymologies presented in this survey are formally acknowledged. What is at stake is not the nativity of the language at birth, whether by locality or anthropology, but the resulting product of a mixed stock in which Chinese origin is massive, including the basic stratum. The focus must be on the wholeness of Vietnamese as it appears today, not on genetic affinity inferred from a few basic words that happen to fit the Austroasiatic platform. With the same lexical substance, Mon‑Khmer elements have left a stronger imprint in the Mường dialects than in Vietnamese proper.

Terminologically, ancestral nativity may be designated as "the aboriginal," a concept parallel to "Yue" in Chinese historical records. Yet the term "Yue" cannot be extended to cover all the racial composition of indigenous speakers in Indo‑China, such as Austronesian and Austroasiatic peoples who were ancestors of the Chamic and Mon‑Khmer groups, now minorities in Vietnam. These groups inhabited the northern, western, central, and southern regions long before the Annamese advanced there. In other words, the direct descendants of those Southeast Asian groups are not necessarily related to the Kinh, the majority of modern Vietnam, who arose from later racial fusion with waves of migrants from the north over the last 2,200 years, rather than from Austronesian or Austroasiatic forebears who spread further south into the Malayan peninsula, the Indonesian archipelago, and the Pacific islands 8,000 to 6,000 years ago.

In modern Vietnam, with territories annexed as late as the 18th century from the extinct Champa and Khmer kingdoms, the Annamese continued to move south and became the dominant Kinh majority over minorities who had long controlled those lands. The Kinh population absorbed descendants of earlier northern immigrants and later settlers in the south, including Chamic, Khmer, and Ming "boatpeople" refugees from China's southern coast after the fall of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century.

Throughout national development, contact with other languages had little impact on the basic vocabulary of modern Vietnamese. Many later fundamental words are only add‑ons to existing Sinitic forms, such as 陽 yáng ~ V.S "nắng" (sunshine), 湯 tàng > VS "nóng" (hot liquid), 煬 tāng > VS "nung" (fuse), 貌 máo ~ VS "màu", VS 模 mó ~ VS "mẫu" (model), 姊 zǐ > VS "chị", 姐 jiě > "chế", 餅 bǐng > VS "bánh", etc. Local Mon‑Khmer loanwords should be treated in the same way: elements already present in the lower stratum, confined to small geographic pockets, encountered when the Annamese resettled and came into contact with native Mon‑Khmer speakers. Such patterns of admixture became more visible after the 18th century when southern territories were annexed.

Sinologists who study the formation of Cantonese and Hokkien recognize that Chinese elements grew atop earlier substrata in the very same way. This survey emphasizes the Sino‑Tibetan basic etyma within the Mandarin spectrum that contribute to such top layer. The point is underscored by the historical fact that, during the two decades from 1407 to 1427 when Vietnam was a province under Ming dominion, Chinese was taught as a living language and required for all imperial examinations. That legacy, in turn, permeates every aspect of modern Vietnamese. (M)

As for fundamental words, every people must have had a minimum set of basic vocabulary from the dawn of their existence. It is difficult to imagine borrowing for kinship, body parts, natural phenomena, or daily survival terms. While many Vietnamese basic words appear cognate with both Mon‑Khmer and Chinese, the relationship between Chinese and Vietnamese extends far beyond the basic stratum. The pressing issue is to interpret this affinity: specialists often either ignore it, treating such words as "purely Vietnamese", or insist on unique cultural origins, denying them as cultural loans. Examples include 標杆 piāogàn > VS "câynêu" (New Year banner pole) or "bánhtét" (bánh Tết: 餅 bǐng + 節 jié). Therefore, recognition of 節 jié as SV "tiết" > VS "Tết" shows how one character carries meanings of "season", "harvest", and "festival", and how the entering tone 陽入聲 yángrùshēng explains the final /‑t/ shared by Vietnamese and many Chinese dialects while official Mandarin is having none.

For all such traits, Vietnamese and Chinese histories reinforce one another. Cultural affiliation is evident in ways absent from Mon‑Khmer or Tai‑Kadai. Yet some Vietnamese scholars still claim purity, arguing that their forefathers "twisted" pronunciations so Sino‑Vietnamese would no longer sound Chinese. Such views reflect patriotic nationalism more than linguistic reality. They overlook the historical fact that Vietnam was part of China for a thousand years until 939 A.D. and remained a vassal state in later periods. These historical highlights should remind us of the true identity of Vietnamese basic words that are cognate with Mandarin Chinese in the lager part.

One historical linguist, Nguyễn Ngọc San (1993, pp. 105–120), acknowledged that Chinese records exist which allow certain Vietnamese basic words to be traced back to Old Chinese. Yet he sided with other scholars who argued that Vietnamese is a hybrid language, evolving from multiple sources built upon an Austroasiatic Mon‑Khmer stratum. The difficulty, however, is that no historical evidence has been provided to substantiate the claims for Austroasiatic Mon‑Khmer or Tai‑Kadai elements in the Vietnamese basic lexicon.

To compensate for the absence of historical reconstruction comparable to what is available in Chinese historical phonology, Nguyễn Ngọc San relied on modern wordlists from living Mon‑Khmer languages. He cited examples such as "chrohom" ~ Vietnamese "chồmhỗm" (squat), "choho" ~ Vietnamese "chòhõ" or "chànghãng" (stand), "rôsao" ~ "laoxao" (bustling), and "comhai" ~ "hơi" (breath). These parallels, however, are no more convincing than the surface similarities that appear between modern Putonghua and Vietnamese, such as 明兒 míngr ~ VS "mainầy" (tomorrow), 受不了 shòubùliăo ~ VS "chịukhôngnổi" (cannot stand it), or 了不起 liăobùqi ~ VS "nổibật" (outstanding).

Below are some of the samples listed by Nguyễn Ngọc San, which he claimed to be typical proofs that the Vietnamese vocabulary stock was built from different sources – primarily Mon‑Khmer, Daic (Tày‑Thái in his classification), and Old Chinese – though in many cases we can still identify plausible Chinese cognates.

Table 1 - Mon-Khmer roots (by Nguyễn Ngọc San)

English meaning	Mon-Khmer	Vietnamese	Chinese cognates by dchph
braid	pul	búi, múi	**** 襆 pú
break	tưt	đứt, dứt, nứt	**** 斷 duàn
carry	păng	bưng	**** 捧 pēng
chest	ngức	ngực, ức	****** 臆 yì
clip	thkiep	cặp, gắp	****** 夾 jiá
dragon	tơluông	rồng, thuồngluồng, đuống (cầuđuống) (?)	****** 龍 lóng
end	tot	chót (vót), tót	*** 卒 zú
flies	rui	ruồi, dòi	**** 蠅 yíng
gnaw	khăm	cắm, cắn, gặm	**** 啃 kěn
nest	t'ôh	ổ, tổ	**** 窩 wō
pinch	peo	béo, véo	*** 揑 niē
roll	kbên	bện vấn, quấn	**** (編)圈 (biān)quăn
round	kvenh	quàng, vành, quanh	**** 環 huán
shake	tunl	đun, dun(dảy),	**** 動 dòng
slice, tear	cheek	chẻ, xé	**** 切 qiè ('chẻ), **** 撕 cì (xé)
smear	blei	trây, giây, bây (bai bây)	*** 塗抹 túmó
smelly	sôui	thối, hôi	****** 臭 chòu
snake	t'an	rắn	**** 虵 yé
sow	pon	bón, vón, vunh	**** 播 bō
stretch	chang	chạng, dạng (chân)	**** 張 zhāng
wall lizard	t'lan	thằnlằn, trăn (?)	**** 蝘蜓 yǎntíng
water	tưk	nắc, nước	*** 水 shuǐ (Cf. đák: 淂 dé, SV đắc)
wave	kvơ	quơ, vơ, huơ	****** 揮 huī
with	pơơi	mới, với	**** 與 yú

Table 2 - Tai-Kadai roots (by Nguyễn Ngọc San)

English meaning	Tai-Kadai	Vietnamese	Chinese cognate by dchph
throw	quăng	quăng, văng	**** 扔 rèng
strike	phang	phạng, phang (đánh)	**** 搒 páng
stretch	chăng	chăng, giăng	**** 張 zhāng
short	cọt	cộc, cụt, ngủn	*** 短 duăn
recognize	nhin	nhận	**** 認 rèn
radiate	choả	toả, xoả	*** 射 shè
prick	chộc	chọc, xọc	*** 扎 zā
pounce	tup	đập, dập	*** 踏 tă
piece	pjêng	miếng, mãnh	**** 片 piàn
peel	poóc	bóc, vót	**** 剝 pō
here	nấy	nầy, đây	茲 zī
grasp	pôôc	bốc, vốc	*** 抓 zhuā
graceful	rủngrỉnh	đủngđỉnh, dủngdỉnh	*** 婷婷 tíngtíng
father	pò	bố, bú, bọ	****** 父 fù
empty	rồng	rỗng, trống	**** 空 kōng
carry	đeo	đeo, neo, đèo (bòng)	*** 戴 dài
?	cọn	cọn, guồng	?
?	khẳn	khẳm, khẳn, hăm	?

Table 3 - Chinese roots (by Nguyễn Ngọc San)

English meaning	Old Chinese	Vietnamese	Chinese cognate by dchph
board	pan	bản, ván	****** 板 băn
break	pwo	bửa, phá, vỡ	**** 破 pò
decadence	toi	đồi (bại), tồi	**** 墮 duò
drive out		khu (trục), khua, xua	****** 驅 qū
embroider	suo	tú (cẩm), thùa thêu	****** 繡 xìu
gaze	tăm	đăm, chiêm (ngưỡng), nom	**** 瞻 zhàn
hard	k'u	khổ, khó (nhọc)	**** 苦 kǔ
hit home	tung	đúng, trúng	****** 中 zhòng
last	tsuot	tốt (lính), chót (cuối), sót (đểlại)	**** 卒 zú
mend	pu	bổ, vá	****** 補 bǔ
pursue	tweir	đuổi, truy	**** 追 zhuī
side	pjen	bê, biên, men, ven viền	**** 邊 biān
skillful	k'jiao	kháu, khéo, xảo	****** 巧 qiáo
sprinkle	sai	tưới, rưới, rảy	****** 灑 să
then!	pyot	tất (cả), sốt, sất (không có gì sốt!), tuốt	** 唄 bei!
wife	piwo	bụa, phụ, vợ	****** 婦 fù

It is no surprise that the Daic-Kadai appear to be less plausibly cognate to those etyma in Vietnamese. What else can one expect the language of a nation would have become after 1,000 years of foreign domination? Take a quick look at them and you can draw your own conclusion.

II) Chinese basic words

Having reviewed the Mon‑Khmer versus Vietnamese basic wordlists proposed by various scholars, we now shift focus to Chinese–Vietnamese comparisons. The following sections analyze cognacy in basic vocabulary by traversing the Old Chinese domain, including relevant Sino‑Tibetan etyma that illuminate deeper connections. For reference, see Shafer’s etymological list in Chapter 10.)

Fundamental Chinese words are often represented by characters composed of iconic pictographs and ideographs, each corresponding to a monosyllabic morpheme. Examples include:

• 天 tiān 'heaven'
• 日 rì 'sun'
• 人 rén 'man'
• 大 dà 'big'
• 目 mù 'eye'
• 口 kǒu 'mouth'

These characters likely originated as divinatory symbols, first engraved on tortoise shells, and later formalized into the Chinese writing system. We begin by examining them through a Sinitic-Vietnamese etymological lens.

Loanword recency and phonological shifts – When Vietnamese and Chinese forms show high surface similarity, they are often recent loanwords, borrowed not only during early colonial contact but throughout Vietnam’s independent history. For example:

• SV nhật vs. VS ngày, giời, trời ← 日 rì 'sun'

Recency of cognacy often manifests through contraction and metathesis—where sounds are dropped, merged, or reordered. Examples include:

• mình ← 我們 wǒmén (Beijing subdialect /mne/) 'we'
• em(gái) ← 阿妹 āmèi (amuội) ← 妹妹 mèimèi ← 妹 mèi 'younger sister'

Reverse word order is another hallmark of Vietnamese adaptation, where modifiers follow the modified. These bound forms are marked with the symbol # in this manuscript:

• nhỏ|em # em|nhỏ ← 小妹 xiăomèi (SV tiểumuội), 'little girl'

Such disyllabic formations reflect extensive sound change and syntactic restructuring.

Chronology of loan integration – Older etyma tend to undergo inversion and phonological reshaping to feel native to Vietnamese ears. More recent loans often retain the full semantic package, with only minor phonetic twisting. This is a common phenomenon across languages over time and space. Some examples in sun-related terms:

• VS giờixuân ← 春日 chūnrì (SV xuânnhật) 'springtime'
• VS giờimọc ← 日出 rìchū (SV nhậtxuất) 'sunrise'
• VS giờilặn ← 日落 rìluò (SV nhậtlạc) 'sunset'
• VS giờingãvềtây ← 日已西斜 rìyǐxīxié (SV nhậtnhĩtâytà) 'the sun declined to the west'
• VS giờingàycànglạnh ← 日漸寒冷 rìjiànhánlěng (SV nhậttiệmhànlãnh) 'it is getting colder'
  

Moon-related terms show similar layering:

• VS congiăng # ← 月球 yuèqiú (SV nguyệtcầu) 'the moon' [also Vietnamized as 'the month']
• VS giăngkhuyết ← 月虧 yuèkuī (SV nguyệtkhuy) 'crescent moon'
• VS giăngtròn ← 月圓 yuèyuán (SV nguyệtviên) 'fully-rounded moon'
• VS giăngrằm ← 月盈 yuèyíng (SV nguyệtdoanh) 'full moon'

These examples illustrate how Vietnamese integrates Sinitic roots through phonological adaptation, syntactic inversion, and semantic layering.

Diachronic displacement – Terms like /blời/ or /blăng/, though historically attested, no longer fit well into compound structures. Each reflects a distinct period of Vietnamese linguistic development, and their displacement underscores the dynamic evolution of the lexicon.

Doublets and parallel forms in Sinitic-Vietnamese cognacy – In Early Middle Chinese, Ancient Chinese, and Old Chinese, parallel forms, whether doublets or etyma from the same word family, may co‑exist in contemporary Vietnamese. This stems from the fact that many Vietnamese terms evolved from Chinese bound compounds or free constituents, with loanwords grammatically adjusted to suit native Vietnamese usage.

This phenomenon of grammatical discrepancy is not unusual. Compare French le ciel bleu with English the blue sky: metathesis, or word order shifts are common when disyllabic compounds enter a borrowing language. Over time, high-frequency pairings – predicative nouns, adverbial adjectives, verb complements, verb objects – tend to reorder or restructure. In Vietnamese, these forms co‑exist with Sino‑Vietnamese derivatives and retain extended meanings from their Chinese origins, though. For example:

• ngàytháng ← 日月 rìyuè 'days' [cf. SV nhậtnguyệt: 'the sun and the moon']
• thôinôi ← 周年 zhōunián 'baby's first birthday' [cf. SV châuniên: 'anniversary'; 周 zhōu > VS thôi- 'cease', 年 nián > VS -nôi 'cradle']
• đầytháng ← 周月 zhōuyuè 'baby’s one-month shower' [周 zhōu > VS đầy-]
• giời (or trời) ← 日 rì 'sun' [cf. SV nhật; also VS ngày 'day']

These examples show how free-form VS ngày integrates with 日 rì across compounds:

• 日日 rìrì → ngàyngày 'everyday'
• 春日 chūnrì → ngàyxuân 'springtime'
• 每日 měigrì → mỗingày 'each day'
• 今日 jīnrì → ngàynay 'today' [cf. Mandarin 今天 jīntiān: VS hômnay]
• 明日 míngrì → ngàymai 'tomorrow' [cf. mainày 'the next day']
• 日常 rìcháng → thườngngày 'daily routine' [cf. VS ngàythường 'weekday']
• 青天白日 qīngtiānbáirì → banngàybanmặt 'in broad daylight'
• 夏季 日長夜短 xiàjì rìchángyèduăn → mùahè ngàydàiđêmngắn 'summer: long days, short nights'

The semantic layering of 天 tiān and trời – The character 天 tiān denotes 'sky', 'heaven', and 'the Almighty', aligning with Vietnamese trời. While 日 rì later acquired the meaning of 'day', 天 tiān retains its abstract and spiritual connotations. Etymologically: 天 tiān < MC thien < OC thi:n | FQ 他前. Notably, Hainanese 前 is pronounced /tai2/, and Central Vietnamese tời /təj2/.

Compare 天 tiān with Vietnamese trời across fixed expressions:

• Trờiơi ← 天阿 Tiānna 'Oh my Lord' [cf. vernacular Chènơi!]
• ÔngTrờigià ← 老天爺 Lăotiānyé 'Supreme Lord'
• trờiđất ← 天地 tiāndì 'heaven and earth' [cf. Chènđét(ơi)]
• trờikhông ← 天空 tiānkōng 'sky'
• trêntrời ← 天上 tiānshàng 'in the sky'
• trờicho ← 天賜 tiāncì 'bestowed by Heaven'
• trờisáng ← 天亮 tiānliàng 'daybreak'
• trờitối ← 天黑 tiānhēi 'nightfall'
• trờimưa ← 雨天 yǔtiān 'wet day'
• khítrời ← 天氣 tiānqì 'weather'
• trờirâm ← 陰天 yīntiān 'overcast'
• trờitạnh ← 晴天 qīngtiān 'clear sky'
• trờihè ← 夏天 xiàtiān 'summertime'
• trờithu ← 秋天 qiūtiān 'autumn sky'
• trờilạnh ← 天冷 tiānlěng 'cold day'
• trờinóng ← 天暖 tiānnuăn 'warm day'
• trờinực ← 天熱 tiānrè 'hot day'
• trờivàomưa ← 黃梅天 huángméitiān 'rainy season' [cf. VS mùamưa]
• trờisinhcótài ← 天生才子 tiānshēngcáizi 'born a genius'
• trờicaocómắt ← 老天有眼 lăotiānyǒuyăn 'Providence is watching'
• trờiđánh(thánhđâm) ← 天打(雷斃) tiāndă(léipì) 'divine punishment'
• chântrờigócbể ← 天涯海角 tiānyáháijiăo 'remote corners of the earth'
• lướitrờilồnglộng ← 天羅地網 tiānluódìwăng 'heavenly trap' [cf. SV thiênlađịavõng]
• trờibấtdunggian ← 天不容姦 tiānbùróngjiān 'Heaven does not tolerate evil'
• khôngđộitrờichung ← 不共戴天 bùgòngdàitiān 'irreconcilable enmity'
• trờitruđấtdiệt ← 天誅地滅 tiānzhūdìmiè 'divine retribution'
• sốmệnhdotrời ← 聽天由命 tìngtiānyóumìng 'fate is Heaven’s will'
• ôngtơbànguyệt ← 天公月老 tiāngōngyuèlăo 'heavenly matchmaker'
• longtrờilỡđất ← 驚天動地 jīngtiāndòngdì 'earth-shaking event' [cf. SV kinhthiênđộngđịa]
• Chỉcó trời hiểuđược! ← 只有天曉得! zhǐyǒu tiān xiăodé! 'Only Heaven knows!'

These expressions show how 天 tiān maps onto trời, giời, hôm, and ngày in Vietnamese. They are interchangeable across modern Chinese compounds:

• 兩天 liăngtiān → vàihôm 'a couple of days'
• 昨天 zuótiān → hômqua 'yesterday'
• 今天 jīntiān → hômnay 'today'

Thus, 日 rì and 天 tiān may be treated as doublets – just like trời and giời in Vietnamese.

Historical variants and dialectal influence – In the 16th century, Vietnamese featured 'blời' and 'blăng' for 'trời' and 'trăng', respectively. These forms were attested in Hoàbình Province, where Viet‑Muong speakers interacted frequently with Western missionaries. These missionaries, blacklisted by Nguyễn Dynasty rulers, avoided lowland Kinh areas and settled in upland regions.

Linguistically, the complex consonantal onset /bl‑/ may have entered Vietnamese via Chamic influence, especially in southern territories annexed by early Nguyễn kings. This southern domain rivaled the northern heartland in size and cultural impact. 

Trời as Supreme Power: Lexical variants and phonological pathways – Beyond its meteorological and calendrical senses, the concept of trời in Vietnamese also denotes 'the Supreme Almighty'. This semantic layer aligns with 帝 dì (SV đế), a term historically used to signify imperial authority and divine sovereignty.

• trời ← 帝 dì (SV đế) [M 帝 dì < MC teij < OC *teːɡs  | Cantonese /dai3/, Hakka /di5/, Central Vietnamese subdialect: tời /təj2/ || Wiktionary: Etymologically, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *teɣ (“God”); compare Tibetan ཐེ (the, “celestial gods of the Bon religion”), Jingpho (mə³¹-tai³³, “god of the sky”), Proto-Bodo-Garo *mɯ-Dai⁴ (“spirit; god”) (Coblin, 1986; Schuessler, 2007; Sagart, 2011). Cognate with 禘 (OC *deːɡs, “a kind of sacrifice”) (Schuessler, 2007).  Alternatively, Sagart (1999) derives it from a root  (“to be master over; to rule over”), whence also 適 (OC *ᵃtek, “to rule; to control”), 嫡 (OC *ᵃtek, “son of principal wife”).]

As a lexical doublet, 帝 dì co‑exists with 天 tiān. While 天 tiān often connotes 'heaven' or 'sky'. (T)

Moon and Month: giăng, trăng, tháng – The term giăng ← 月 yuè (SV nguyệt) maps onto both trăng 'moon' and tháng 'month'. Etymologically, 

• Viet. 'tháng' <~ 'thiềm' <~ 'trăng' <~ 'giăng' ← M 月 yuè < MC ŋʷiɐt < OC *ŋod

Phonologically, trăng /ʈaŋ1/ may evolve into tháng /tʰaŋ5/, paralleling the shift from 日 rì > giời to ngày. In Northern subdialects, giăng reflects a substitution pattern where /tr‑/ is replaced by /gi‑/ or /ch‑/, due to difficulty pronouncing retroflex /ʈ‑/. In Central dialects, variants include /t‑/ and /bl‑/, possibly influenced by Chamic articulation.

In the 17th century, Western missionaries transcribed trăng as blăng, suggesting a complex consonantal onset common in Mon-Khmer or Muong region. Similarly, blời for mặttrời implies a parallel variant mặttrăng → blăng. The onset /bl‑/ may have shifted to /mj‑/, yielding mặt. Benedict (1975) notes a Thai cognate: ʔblüan 'moon' ← ʔblyan < q/b(ə)lal, with Kam‑Sui nyaan (pp. 20, 422).

Phonological correspondences – The pattern {VS /gi‑/ ~ Chinese /y‑/, /j‑/, /jh‑/} supports the cognacy of giăng with /yuè/. Similarly, {VS /tr‑/, /th‑/ ~ Chinese /y‑/} appears in:

• 羭 yú (SV du) ~ VS trừu 'sheep'
• 藥 yào (SV dược) ~ VS thuốc 'medicine'
• 鑰 yào (SV thược) ~ VS thước 'lock'

Compound usage with 月 yuè – Vietnamese compounds with 月 yuè include:

• trăngkhuyết ← 月虧 yuèkuī 'crescent moon'
• trăngrằm ← 月盈 yuèyíng 'full moon'
• trănglên # ← 新月 xīnyuè 'new moon'
• trăngtàn # ← 殘月 cányuè 'waning moon'
• dướitrăng # ← 月下 yuèxià 'under the moon'
• vầngtrăng # ← 月暈 yuèyùn 'moon halo'
• thángđủ # ← 大月 dàyuè '30-day month'
• thángthiếu # ← 小月 xiăoyuè '29-day month' [cf. thiếutháng 'miscarriage']
• thánggiêng # ← 正月 zhèngyuè 'first month'
• thángchạp # ← 臘月 làyuè 'twelfth month'
• thángngày # ← 日月 rìyuè 'days' [cf. ngàytháng]
• đầytháng ← 周月 zhōuyuè 'baby’s one-month shower'
• tuầntrăngmật # ← 渡蜜月 dùmìyuè 'honeymoon'
• mặttrăng ← 月亮 yuèliàng 'the moon'
• ánhtrăng nóihộ lòng em ← 月亮 代表 我的 心. Yuèliàng dàibiăo wǒde xīn. 'The moon stands for my love to you'

Table 4 - Iconic cognacy and semantic continuity in basic vocabulary

As we explore the cognacy between Chinese and Vietnamese basic vocabulary, we are not merely comparing phonetic forms, we are excavating the conceptual roots embedded in the earliest iconic glyphs of the donor language. These glyphs – such as 日 'sun', 月 'moon', 母 'mother' carrying 子 'child' – encode not only visual symbolism but also semantic depth and cultural continuity. Remarkably, many of these forms retain near-original phonetic contours and conceptual resonance in Vietnamese, even under layers of phonological masking and semantic drift.

This section continues our comparative exploration of foundational lexemes shared between two of the world’s most intimately entangled languages.

Table 4.1 - Kinship and humanity

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
bố	父 fù	phụ	'father' [cf. ba, 爸; cha, 爹 diè → VS tía]
mẹ	母 mǔ	mẫu	'mother' [cf. mợ, mái (female fowl); nạ 娘 niáng 'mommy']
con	子 zǐ	tử	'child, son' [cf. Fuzhou 囝 kiaŋ, Hainanese /ke1/, Austroasiatic kiã]
người	人 rén	nhân	'human' [cf. 日 rì → ngày, 牙 yá → răng, 壓 yàn → ngán]
anh	兄 xiōng	huynh	'older brother' [cf. anhem 兄妹 xiōngmēi (huynhmuội), anhtam 兄弟 xiōngdì (huynhđệ), cf. interchange pattern 轟 hōng → oanh]
trai	丁 dīng	đinh	'man' [also original form of 'nail', 'peg'; cf. 丁丁 'zhengzheng' (onomatopoeic)]

Table 4.2 - Nature and elements

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
non	山 shān	san, sơn	'mountain'
sông	川 chuān	xuyên	'river'
nước	水 shuǐ	thuỷ	'water'
nước	淂 dé	đắc	'body of water' [cf. ancient đák]
đất	土 tǔ	thổ	'soil' [cf. 地 dì → địa, VS đất]
đồng	田 tián	điền	'field' [cf. VS ruộng ← 垌 tóng (SV đồng)]
mưa	雨 yǔ	vũ	'rain' [cf. y‑ ~ m‑]
lửa	火 huǒ	hoả	'fire' [cf. interchange pattern 大伙 dàhuǒ → cảlũ, 話 huà → lời]

Table 4.3 - Body parts

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
mắt	目 mù	mục	'eye' [cf. Austroasiatic parallels]
sọ	首 shǒu	thủ	'skull' [cf. 頭 tóu]
mặt	面 miàn	diện	'face' [cf. mặtmày, mặtrước, mặtsau]
tim	心 xīn	tâm	'heart' [cf. VS lòng]
chân	足 zú	túc	'foot' [loan for đủ 'enough'; cf. 腳 jiăo → chân, 脛 jìng → cẳng]
mồm	口 kǒu	khẩu	'mouth' [cf. VS cửa, 吻 wěn → miệng]
tay	手 shǒu	thủ	'hand' [cf. Japanese /te1/]

The comparanda above reveal not only phonological correspondences but also semantic layering and etymological depth. Many Vietnamese terms preserve the conceptual essence of their Chinese counterparts, even when phonetic forms diverge due to dialectal shifts, Austroasiatic substrata, or historical sound change.

Additionally, we may also want to include some other words, of dubious nature though, associated with numerous earliest Chinese basic characters as discussed in the previous chapters 8, 9, and 10:

Additional Comparanda: Early glyphs and semantic drift  – In addition to the core cognates previously examined, we may cautiously consider a supplementary set of Vietnamese terms whose origins, while less certain, appear to align with some of the earliest Chinese pictographic characters discussed in Chapters 8–10. Though some items may reflect mixed or layered etymologies, their semantic and phonological profiles suggest deep historical entanglement.

• Numerals and Natural Substances

• một ← 一 yī 'one' (SV nhất /ɲɐt7/)
• hai ← 二 èr 'two' (SV nhị /ɲej6/)
• ba ← 三 sān 'three' (SV tam /tam1/) [cf. Hainanese /ta1/; also 仨 sā (SV ta): 'the three']
• gỗ ← 木 mù 'tree, timber' (SV mộc) [cf. 材 cái (SV tài)]

Table 5 - Extended Cognates from Early Glyphs and Ideograms

These early glyphs, rooted in iconic representation, later gave rise to more abstract ideograms. Their semantic fields expanded while retaining core referents.

Table 5.A - Numerals and natural substances

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
một	一 yī	nhất	'one'
hai	二 èr	nhị	'two'
ba	三 sān	tam	'three' [cf. 仨 sā → SV ta]
gỗ	木 mù	mộc	'tree, timber' [cf. 材 cái → SV tài]

Table 5.B - Environmental lexicon

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
đất	地 dì	địa	'land' [cf. 土地 tǔdì → đấtđai]
sao	星 xīng	tinh	'star'
mây	雲 yún	vân	'cloud'
mù	霧 wù	vụ	'fog'
sông	江 jiāng	giang	'river'
sáng	明 míng	minh	'bright' [cf. 明兒 míngr → (ngày)mai]

Table 5.C - Kinship and domestic terms

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
cha	爹 diè	đa	'daddy' [cf. VS tía]
ba	爸 bā	ba	'dad'
má	媽 mā	ma	'mom'
nạ	娘 niáng	nương	'mom' [cf. nàng 'miss']

Table 5.D - Sensory and action verbs

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
nóng	燙 tàng	tháng	'hot'
coi	看 kàn	khán	'look' [cf. VS khám 'examine']
chạy	走 zǒu	tẩu	'run' [Mandarin also: 'walk']

Table 5.E - Body and motion

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
đầu	頭 tóu	đầu	'head'
chân	腳 jiăo	cước	'leg' [cf. 腳板 jiǎobǎn → bànchân]
tay	臂 bì	tý	'arm' [cf. 手 shǒu → bàntay]

 Framing the inquiry: Affiliation, not provenance – This research paper does not seek to prove a genetic relationship between Vietnamese and Chinese. Rather, it highlights the undeniable depth and breadth of lexical overlap, especially as evidenced in Shafer’s Sino-Tibetan wordlist (See Chapter 10). The influence is not superficial. It permeates core vocabulary and extended derivatives across semantic domains, revealing that many Vietnamese terms are not merely borrowed but structurally and conceptually aligned with Chinese usage. In some cases, they appear as direct replicas or, at least, calques. 

These patterns suggest that Vietnamese, while not officially classified within the Sino-Tibetan family, may be its hidden affiliate, an entangled member shaped by centuries of contact, convergence, and cultural transmission.

Expanding the lexical field – In the following sections, we will continue to explore basic vocabulary items that exhibit potential cognacy with Chinese. This expanded list will include, but not be limited to, the categories emphasized by Nguyễn Ngọc San (1993, p. 95), who attributed them to Mon-Khmer origins. His conclusions, however, may warrant reconsideration.

Editorial Note: The Author guarantees that readers will be overwhelmed by the fundamental etymological Chinese-Vietnamese data that have made Vietnamese as it is today. T he list presented here is representative and inclusive only, not exhaustive. Many etyma have already been cited and analyzed in previous chapters. If they reappear, it is for emphasis – not oversight. Readers seeking cross-references may refer to previous chapters 8–10, or consult the etymology database at HanViet.com.

As a general heuristic: the closer the phonetic resemblance, the more likely the term is a recent loan from Chinese. This principle, while not absolute, serves as a practical guide throughout the analysis.

Table 6 - Chinese-Vietnamese basic cognates
(See following sections for semantic breakdown and phonological scaffolding)

A) Family relations and kinship terms

In addition to previously cited kinship lexicons – such as cha ← 爹 diè 'father' (VS tía) and anh ← 兄 xiōng 'older brother' (SV huynh) – the following entries expand the relational field with deeper etymological layering:

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
ông	公 gōng	công	'grandfather'; also cồ, trống (male fowl); cf. 翁 wēng → SV ông 'old man'; lông 'feather'
ôngnội	爺爺 yéye	giagia	'paternal grandfather'; replaces non-extant 內公 nèigōng (SV nộicông)
ôngngoại	外公 wàigōng	ngoạicông	'maternal grandfather'
bà	婆 pó	bà	'grandmother'; inclusive usage
bàngoại	外婆 wàipó	ngoạibà	'maternal grandmother'
bànội	奶奶 năinai	nãinãi	'paternal grandmother'; cf. 姥姥 lăolào → SV lãolão
tôi	我 wǒ	ngã	'I, me'; cf. VS qua, mỗ; possibly influenced by 婢 bì (SV tì) → nôtì 'servant'; also cf. 吾, 余, 咱
đôilứa	我倆 wǒliăng	ngãlưỡng	'we both'
chúngmình	咱們 zánměn	tamôn	'we, exclusively'
mình	我們 wǒmén	ngãmôn	'we'; Beijing subdialect /mne/
ta	咱 zá	ta	'we, inclusively'
nàng	娘 niáng	nương	'young lady'; cf. 姑娘 gūniáng → SV cônương
chồng	君 jūn	quân	'husband'; cf. 郎 láng → SV lang; also 丈夫
vợ	婦 fù	phụ	'wife'; cf. VS bụa in goábụa ← 寡婦 guăfù (SV quảphụ)
vợlẻ	妻妾 qīqiè	thêthiếp	'concubine'; also vợnhỏ, vợbé
chị	姊 zǐ	tỷ	'older sister'; cf. 姐 jiě → SV thư
em	妹 mēi	muội	'younger sister'; VS bậu; cf. 妹妹 mēimēi → em(gái)
em	俺 ǎn	am	'younger brother'; dialectal usage; cf. 萼 è (SV ngạc); 弟 dì → SV đệ in 兄弟 xiōngdì 'siblings'

Notes on Kinship Hierarchies: Vietnamese-Mandarin Parallels

The term tôi ← 我 wǒ is etymologically and socially complex—across classical, colloquial, and official registers. Phonologically, it aligns with OC ŋha:jʔ, yet its semantic trajectory may reflect contamination from 婢 bì 'servant', suggesting a humble self-reference akin to 在下 zàixià (SV tạihạ). This interpretation positions tôi as a late-emerging form, possibly shaped by literary conventions and social hierarchy.

Other dialectal variants – qua, mỗ, ta, chúngmình – reveal a layered evolution of personal pronouns in Vietnamese. These forms reflect not only phonological diversity but also pragmatic shifts in speaker–listener relationships, inclusive vs. exclusive reference, and regional usage.

Which forms align directly between Mandarin and Vietnamese? Remarkably, the full kinship system – spanning maternal and paternal lines, from uncles and aunts to nephews and nieces – maps closely across both languages. The semantic precision and hierarchical structure of these terms suggest a shared cultural logic and lexical inheritance.

Table 6.A - Kinship continuities: Vietnamese-Mandarin correspondences

The following sections continue to detail kinship correspondences, showing how Vietnamese relational terms mirror Mandarin usage in both form and function. Each entry is scaffolded with its Chinese counterpart, Sino-Vietnamese reading, and phonological or semantic notes.

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
cô	姑 gū	cô	'paternal aunt'; also short for cônàng ← 姑娘 gūniáng 'young lady' (SV cônương)
cậu	舅 jìu	cữu	'maternal uncle'
chú	叔 shù	thúc	'paternal uncle'
thím	嬸 shěn	thẩm	'wife of paternal uncle'
bác	伯 bó	bá	'father’s elder brother'
dì	姨 yí	di	'maternal aunt'
mợ	母 mǔ	mẫu	'maternal uncle’s wife'; also used for 'mother' in northern dialects; cf. 舅母 jiùmǔ → cậumợ
cháu	侄 zhí	điệt	'nephew or niece'
cháuđíchtôn	嫡孫子 dísūnzi	đíchtôn	'first grandson'

Table 6.B - Extended kinship and in-law terms

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
dượng	丈 zhàng	trượng	'uncle-in-law'; contraction of 姑丈 gūzhàng, 姨丈 yízhàng, 姐丈 jiězhàng
mẹghẻ	繼母 jìmǔ	kếmẫu	'stepmother'
bốghẻ	繼父 jìfù	kếphụ	'stepfather'; cf. new VS calque: 繼爹 jìdiè ('chaghẻ')
mẹruột	親母 qīnmǔ	mẫuthân	'biological mother'
bốruột	親父 qīnfù	thânphụ	'biological father'
xuigia	親家 qīnjiā	thângia	'in-laws'; cf. VS thônggia ← 親家 qìngjiā
bốvợ	岳父 yuèfù	nhạcphụ	'father-in-law'
mẹvợ	岳母 yuèmǔ	nhạcmẫu	'mother-in-law'
chịdâu	嫂子 săozi	tẩu	'older sister-in-law'
(con)dâu	兒媳(婦) érxí(fù)	nhitức	'daughter-in-law'
(con)rể	(女)婿 (nǚ)xù	tế	'son-in-law'
cộtchèo	連襟 liánjīn	liêncâm	'husbands of sisters'
chịemdâu	妯娌 zhóulǐ	trụclý	'sisters-in-law'

These correspondences extend beyond immediate family to encompass in-laws, step-relations, and affinal ties. The semantic precision and structural symmetry between Vietnamese and Mandarin kinship systems suggest more than cultural borrowing; they reflect a shared relational logic deeply embedded in both languages.

The list could continue indefinitely, covering great-grandparents, great-grandchildren, and dialectal variants across northeastern and southwestern Mandarin. While the Mon-Khmer camp attributes this closeness to prolonged Chinese cultural influence, one must ask: what of the parallels in natural phenomena, bodily terms, or intimate activities?

If we revisit Shafer’s Sino-Tibetan wordlist, the evidence of cognacy across all lexical domains becomes even more compelling. Readers are invited to verify these patterns – across kinship, nature, and daily life – as we now proceed to explore other basic vocabulary categories.

Many additional cognates have been cited in previous sections and are omitted here for brevity. The patterns, however, remain consistent: across domains of nature, kinship, and belief, Vietnamese and Chinese share a deep lexical and conceptual affinity.

Table 6.C - Natural phenomena and environmental surroundings

In addition to previously cited etyma, the following lexicons belong to the foundational stratum of Vietnamese–Chinese linguistic alignment:

Sintic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
sáng	亮 liàng	lượng	'bright'; cf. xinh 'pretty'; doublets: 朗, 景, 爽
sáng	晨 chén	thìn	'morning'; cf. dialectal forms: sin, siŋ
trưa	晝 zhòu	trú	'noon'; cf. 調 as loan variant
chiều	昃 zè	trắc	'afternoon'; cf. 朝陽 zhāoyáng → nắngchiều
xế	夕 xī	tịch	'dusk'
tối	宵 xiāo	tiêu	'night'
tối	黑 hēi	hắc	'dark'; cf. 黑暗 hēi'àn → tốităm
gió, giông	風 fēng	phong	'wind'; cf. 颱風 táifēng → giôngtố, mưagió
bão	暴 bào	bạo	'storm'; cf. 暴風 bàofēng → gióbão
nắng	陽 yáng	dương	'sunshine'; cf. 太陽 tàiyáng → trờinắng; 陽光 yángguāng → ánhnắng
đìa	池 chí	trì	'pool'; cf. 池子 chízi → cáichậu
ao	湖 hú	hồ	'lake'; cf. Min forms: o2, ou2
khe	溪 xī	khê	'crevice'; cf. doublet xi
suối	川 chuān	xuyên	'stream'; cf. 泉 quán → tuyền; contrast with 江 jiāng → sông
tạnh	晴 qīng	tanh	'clear sky'; cf. 星 xīng → sao

Table 6.D - Spiritual Beliefs and Ritual Vocabulary

The following lexicons reflect deep semantic and cultural entanglement between Vietnamese and Chinese spiritual traditions:

Sintic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
Trờiơi	天阿 Tiānna	thiên-a	'Oh My Lord'
Bụt	佛 Fó	Phật	'Buddha'
Chúa	主 Zhǔ	chủ	'Lord'; cf. 天主 Tiānzhǔ → Chúatrời; 主日 Zhǔrì → Chúanhật
thiêng	靈 líng	linh	'sacred'; cf. 神靈 shénlíng → linhthiêng
hiểnlinh	顯靈 xiǎnlíng	hiểnlinh	'epiphanic'
nhiệmmàu	玄妙 xuánmiào	huyềndiệu	'miracle'
thầymo	巫師 wúshī	vusư	'witch'; cf. 巫婆 wúpó → mụbà
bói	卜 bǔ	bốc	'divine'; cf. VS bùa
ma	魔 mó	ma	'ghost'; cf. 魔羅 → mara
quỷ	鬼 guǐ	quỉ	'spirit'; cf. 魔鬼 móguǐ → maquỉ
ám	黯 àn	ám	'spiritually possessed'
phùhộ	保佑 bǎoyòu	bảohữu	'bless'; cf. 扶護 fúhù
thần	神 shén	thần	'heavenly saint'; cf. 神靈 shénlíng
thánh	聖 shèng	thánh	'saint'; cf. 神聖 shénshèng → thầnthánh
tiên	仙 xiān	tiên	'fairy'
hồn	魂 hún	hồn	'soul'
vía	魄 pò	phách	'spiritedness'; cf. 魂魄 húnpò → hồnvía
dè	忌 jì	kị	'dread'; cf. 祭 jì → giỗ
giỗ	祭 jì	tế	'sacrificial ceremony'; cf. kị
vái	拜 bài	bái	'pray'; cf. VS lạy
thắpnhang	燒香 shāoxiāng	thiêuhương	'burn incense'; cf. VS đốtnhang
cúng	供 gòng	cống	'offer sacrifice'; cf. 供品, 供果
thờphụng	奉事 fèngshì	phụngsự	'ritual worship'; cf. VS thờcúng, thờphượng

Table 6.E - Plants, staples, foods, meats

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
gạo	稻 dào	đạo	'rice'; cf. lúa (unhusked)
cây	棵 kè	khoá	'tree'; cf. 樹 shù → SV thụ
lá	葉 yè	diệp	'leaf'; cf. 游 yóu → lội
cành	格 gé	các	'branch'
nhánh	梗 gěng	ngạnh	'branch'
cọng	莖 jīng	kinh	'stalk'
thân	本 běn	bản	'trunk'; cf. 身 shēn → mình
gốc	根 gēn	căn	'root'
rễ	蒂 dì	đế	'root'; cf. 深根固蒂 → thâmcăncốđế

Table 6.F - Fruits, Seeds, and Vegetables

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
trái	實 shí	thật	'fruit'; cf. 果 guǒ → quả
hột	核 hè	hạch	'seed'; cf. hạt
lạc	落 luò	lạc	'peanut'
đậu	豆 dòu	đậu	'bean'
cam	柑 gān	cam	'orange'
quýt	桔 jú	quất	'mandarin'
chanh	橙 chéng	trừng	'lemon'; cf. sành
bưởi	柚 yóu	du	'pomelo'; cf. bòng
rau	菜 cài	thái	'vegetable'
cải	芥 gài	giới	'mustard'
củ	薯 shǔ	thự	'yam'
tiêu	椒 jiāo	tiêu	'pepper'
bông	葩 pā	ba	'flower'; cf. 花 huā → hoa
chuối	蕉 jiāo	chiêu	'banana'; Yue origin
mít	菠蘿蜜 bōlómì	balamật	'jackfruit'; Yue origin
xuxa	仙草 xiāncăo	tiênthảo	'grass jelly'; cf. sươngsáo
dưa	瓜 guā	qua	'melon'; cf. 塊瓜 kuàiguā → dưahấu
bèo	萍 píng	bình	'duckweed'; cf. 浮萍 fúpíng → lụcbình
dừa	椰 yē	gia	'coconut'; Yue origin
măng	萌 méng	manh	'shoot'; cf. mầm, mới
tre	竹 zhú	trúc	'bamboo'
bầu	匏 páo	biều	'gourd'; cf. bí
hành	蔥 cōng	song, thông	'onion'
tỏi	蒜 suàn	toán	'garlic'
gừng	薑 jiāng	khương	'ginger'
nghệ	艾 ài	ngải, nghệ	'mugwort'
giá	芽 yá	ngà	'bean sprout'
xả	香茅 xiāngmáo	hươngmao	'lemongrass'; cf. satế
muối	硭 máng	mang	'salt'; cf. 硭硝 mángxiāo → muốitiêu
đường	糖 táng	đường	'sugar'; Yue origin
kẹo	糖果 tángguǒ	đườngquả	'candy'; cf. kẹođường

Table 6.G - Meats and seafood

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
cá	魚 yú	ngư	'fish'
sò	螺 luó	la	'clam'
tép	蝦 xiā	hà	'shrimp'; cf. tôm
ghẹ	蟹 xiè	giải	'crab'; cf. cua
hến	蜆 xiàn	nghiễn	'mussel'; cf. kén
thịt	膱 zhí	thức	'meat'; cf. 腊 xì
ruốc	肉 ròu	nhục	'meat'; cf. 炸肉 zhàròu → chảlụa
canh	羮 gēng	canh	'broth'; cf. 血羹 xuègēng → tiếtcanh
tiết	血 xuè	huyết	'blood'; cf. 衁 huang → máu

Table 6.H - Meals and staples

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
bữa	飯 fàn	phạn	'meal'; cf. buổi, ban
cơm	膳 shàn	thiện	'rice dish'; cf. 餐 cān → xan
bột	粉 fěn	phấn	'flour'; cf. bún, phở
bánh	餅 bǐng	bính	'cake'; cf. 包餅 bāobǐng → bòbía
trứng	蛋 dàn	đản	'egg'
phaocâu	屁股 pìgǔ	tícổ	'chicken’s butt'; culinary delicacy

Table 6.I - Head and facial features

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
đầu	頭 tóu	đầu	'head'; cf. sọ ← 首 shǒu
mặt	面 miàn	diện	'face'
tai	耷 dā	đạp	'ear'; contraction of 耳朵 ěrduō
mắt	目 mù	mục	'eye'
mày	眉 méi	mi	'eyebrow'
má	頰 jiá	giáp	'cheek'
họng	喉 hóu	hầu	'throat'
càngcổ	脖頸 bójǐng	bộtcảnh	'neck'
mũi	鼻 pí	tị	'nose'
sốngmũi	鼻梁 pìliáng	tịlương	'bridge of the nose'
mồm	脗 wěn	vẫn	'mouth'; cf. 吻 wěn → 'hôn'
môi	嘴 zuǐ	chuỷ	'lip'
hàm	含 hán	hàm	'jaw'
cằm	頦 kē / 頷 hàn	hài, hàm	'chin', 'lower jaw'
răng	牙 yá	nha	'tooth'; cf. 牙齒 yáchǐ → răngcỏ, 牙肉 yáròu → nướurăng
lứa	齡 líng	linh	'age, tooth'; cf. đồnglứa, quálứa
râu	鬚 xū	tu	'beard'
tóc	髮 fā	phát	'hair'
trán	顛 diān	điên	'forehead'
lông	翁 wēng	ông	'feather'; cf. 毛 máo → body hair

 Table 6.J - Torso and limbs

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
bụng	腹 fù	phục	'stomach'; cf. puk roots in Tibeto-Burman
đùi	腿 tuǐ	thối, thoái	'lap, thigh'
vai	背 bēi	bội	'shoulder'; also 'back', 'carry'
tay	臂 bì / 手 shǒu	tý, thủ	'arm', 'hand'; cf. 手版 shǒubăn → bàntay
ngực	臆 yì	ức	'chest'; cf. Khmer ngức
hông	胸 xiōng	hung	'hips'; modern Mandarin: 'chest'
eo	腰 yāo	yêu	'waist'; cf. lưng
sốnglưng	脊梁 jǐliáng	tíchlương	'spine'; cf. 鼻梁 pìliáng
cu	且 jū	cư	'penis'; cf. VS cặt
đít	屁 pì / 腚 dìng	tí	'buttocks'; cf. 屁股 pìgǔ → phaocâu
trôn	臀 tún	đồn	'buttocks'
bảnhchoẹ	盤坐 pánzuò	bàntọa	'sit flat'; cf. xếpbằng, ngồibệt
chân	足 zú	túc	'foot'
giò	腳 jiăo	cước	'leg'; cf. 腳版 jiăobăn → bànchân
cẳng	脛 jìng	hĩnh	'shin'
móng	趼 jiăn	kiển	'claw, nail'

Table 6.K - Internal Organs and Fluids

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
mạch	脈 mài	mạch	'pulse, vein'
dịch	脈 mài	mạch	'fluid, vein'
cổhọng	喉嚨 hóulóng	hầulung	'throat'
phổi	肺 fèi	phế	'lung'
tim	心 xīn	tâm	'heart'
gan	肝 gān	can	'liver'
thận	腎 shèn	thận	'kidney'
dạdày	胃子 wèizi	vịtử	'stomach'; cf. baotử, tỳvị
hòndái	睪丸 yìhuán	dịchhoàn	'testicle'
tửcung	子宮 zǐgōng	tửcung	'womb'

Table 6.L - Taste and texture

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
ngọt	𩜌 yuē	ngạt	'sweet'; cf. ngọtngào
mặn	咸 xián	hàm	'salty'; cf. mắm
đắng	辛 xīn	tân	'bitter'; also 'spicy'
cay	苦 kǔ	khổ	'spicy'; cf. 辛苦 xīnkǔ → cayđắng
lạt	淡 dàn	đạm	'insipid'; cf. nhạt
tươi	鮮 xiān	tiên	'fresh'
thơm	香 xiāng	hương	'fragrant'; cf. ngon, nhang
tanh	腥 xīng	tinh	'fishy'
thúi	臭 chòu	xú	'smelly'; cf. hôi

Table 6.M - Color and temperature

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
xanh	蒼 cāng	thương	'green'
đỏ	彤 tóng	đồng	'red'
hường	紅 hóng	hồng	'pink'
vàng	黃 huáng	hoàng	'yellow'
tím	紫 zǐ	tử	'purple'; cf. tía
trắng	素 sù	tố	'white'
đen	黔 qián	kiền	'black'; cf. 黔首 → ngườiden
lạnh	冷 lěng	lãnh	'cold'
cóng	寒 hán	hàn	'freezing'; cf. Hainanese /kwa2/
rét	凄 qī	thê	'chilly'; cf. 凄凉 qīliáng → giálạnh
ấm	溫 wēn	ôn	'warm'
nóng	燙 tàng	thang	'hot'; boiling heat
rát	熱 rè	nhiệt	'sore'; cf. nực, nhức

Table 6.N - Bodily functions, actions, observation and expression

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
đau	痛 tòng	thống	'pain'; cf. sickness
sợ	怕 pà	phạ	'afraid'; cf. 怯 qiē → khiếp, 懼 jù → cụ
rảnh	閒 xián	nhàn	'leisure'; cf. ancient dưng
bận	忙 máng	mang	'busy'; cf. 忙活 mánghuó → bậnviệc
rầu	愁 chóu	sầu	'sad'; cf. dialectal forms and phonetic shifts
vui	快 kuài	khoái	'happy'; cf. VS mau
sướng	暢 chăng	sướng	'content'; cf. 'penetrate → satisfaction'
thương	疼 téng	đông	'love'; cf. 疼痛 téngtòng → đauđớn
yêu	愛 ài	ái	'love'; cf. VS ưa, ưng
cưng	慣 guàn	quán	'overprotect'
thích	嗜 shì	thích	'like'
thù	仇 chóu	cừu	'enmity'
ghét	厭 yàn	yếm	'hate'
giúp	助 zhù	trợ	'help'; cf. 幫助 bāngzhù → đỡđần
hờn	恨 hèn	hận	'angry'
tiếc	惜 xì	tích	'cherish'; cf. 惋惜 wănxī → tiếcnuối
thùhằn	仇恨 chóuhèn	cừuhận	'hatred'
chánngán	厭倦 yànjuān	yếmquyện	'fed up'
hốihận	後悔 hòuhuǐ	hậuhối	'regret'; cf. localized 悔恨 huǐhèn
ănnăn	慇恨 yīnhèn	ânhận	'regret'
bênhvực	包庇 bāobì	baotí	'defend, shield'; cf. VS bãobọc
bú	哺 bǔ	bộ	'suck'; OC ba:s
ăn	吃 chī	ngật	'eat'; cf. 喫 chī 'stammer'; phonetic 乙 yǐ (SV ất)
xơi	食 shí	thực	'eat'
uống	飲 yǐn	ẩm	'drink'; OC ʔjəmʔ
nấunướng	烹調 pēngtiáo	phanhđiều	'cook'
đi	去 qù	khứ	'go, walk'; OC khaʔ; cf. 回去 huíqù → trởvề
chạy	走 zǒu	tẩu	'run'; also 'go' in modern Mandarin
ngồi	坐 zuò	toạ	'sit'; cf. 犬坐 quánzuò → chồmhổm
bò	爬 pá	bà	'crawl'
què	瘸 què	cài	'lame'
lết	厲 lì	lệ	'drag'; cf. VS lê
đứng	站 zhàn	trạm	'stand'
chồmhổm	犬坐 quánzuò	khuyểntọa	'squat'
xếpbằng	盤坐 pánzuò	bàntọa	'sit cross-legged'; cf. VS ngồibệt, bảnhchoẹ
đạp	踏 tà	đạp	'trample'; cf. 水 shuǐ → dák (Old Viet-Muong 'water')
bơi	游 yóu	du	'swim'; cf. VS lội
lặn	潛 qián	tiềm	'dive'; cf. VS lén
cày	耕 gēng	canh	'plow'; OC kre:ŋ
làm	幹 gàn	cán	'do'
việc	活 huó	hoạt	'work'; cf. 幹活 gànhuó, 忙活 mánghuó
trồng, giống	種 zhòng, zhǒng	chủng	'plant, breed'; also VS giống, dòng
nhìn	眼 yăn	nhãn	'look'; cf. 眼巴巴 yănbaba, 眼瞪瞪 yăndèngdèng
cười	笑 xiào	tiếu	'laugh'
khóc	哭 kù	khốc	'weep'; cf. 泣 qì → khấp
mơ	夢 mèng	mộng	'dream'; cf. VS mơ (loss of nasal)
đái	尿 niào	niệu	'urinate'; cf. 小便 xiăobiàn → tiểutiện
ỉa	屙 ē	a	'defecate'; cf. 屙屎 → điỉa
táobón	便秘 biànmì	tiệnbí	'constipation'
chảy	瀉 xiè	tả	'diarrhea'; cf. VS tướt
nằm	躺 táng	thảng	'lie down'
ngủ	臥 wò	ngoạ	'sleep'; cf. 臥房 wòfáng → phòngngủ
cóchửa	有身子 yǒushēnzi	hữuthântử	'pregnant'
cóthai	懷胎 huáitāi	hoàithai	'pregnant'
cómang	身孕 shēnyùn	thânvận	'pregnant'
cưumang	懷孕 huáiyùn	hoàivận	'carry a baby'
cókinh	有月經 yǒuyuèjīng	hữunguyệtkinh	'menstruate'
sống, đẻ	生 shēng	sanh	'live', 'give birth'; cf. 吃生 → xơitái
chết	死 sǐ	tử	'die'; cf. 卒 zú (SV tốt), 逝 shì (SV thệ) (C)
chếtyểu	夭折 yāozhé	yêuchiết	'die young'
tắm	洗 xǐ	tẩy	'bathe'
rửa	浴 yù	dục	'wash'
mắng	罵 mà	mạ	'scold'
chửi	咒 zhòu	trù	'swear at'; also trù ~ rủa 'curse'; cf. 咒罵 zhòumà → chửirủa
gây	吵 chăo	sảo	'wrangle'; ex. gâygổ 吵架 chăojià 'quarrel'
giành	爭 zhēng	tranh	'fight for'
đánh	打 dă	đả	'strike'
đâm	捅 tǒng	thủng	'stab'
chặt	砍 kǎn	khảm	'chop'; cf. 砍首 kănshǒu → chặtđầu
chém	斬 zhǎn	trảm	'slash'; cf. 斬首 zhǎnshǒu → chémđầu
giết	殺 shā	sát	'kill'
bế	抱 bào	bão	'carry in arms'; also VS bồng; OC bhu:ʔ; Tib. a~ba 'carry'
gánh	扛 káng	cang	'carry on shoulders'; also VS gồng, khiêng, cõng
trồng, giống	種 zhòng, zhǒng	chủng	'plant, breed'; also VS giống, dòng
đốt	燒 shāo	thiêu	'burn'; also VS sôi, sốt, thắp; cf. 燒香 shāoxiāng → thắpnhang
cháy	焦 jiāo	tiêu	'char'; also VS nâu
hay	好 hăo	hảo	'good'
xấu	醜 chǒu	xú	'ugly'
tốt	德 dé	đức	'kind'; cf. 德性 déxìng → tínhtốt
ác	惡 è	ố	'wicked'; cf. 可惡 kěwù → khảố
hiền	善 shàn	thiện	'gentle'; cf. 善良 shànliáng → thiệnlương
xinh	亮 liàng	lượng	'pretty'; also VS sáng
xinhđẹp	漂亮 piàoliàng	phiêulượng	'beautiful'
thốt	說 shuì	thuyết	'talk'
nói	話 huà	thoại	'speech'; cf. 火 huǒ → lửa; 舌 shě → lưỡi
lời	辭 cí	từ	'spoken word'; archaic loan; Protoform ljə 'speech'
lắngnghe	聆聽 língtīng	linhthính	'listen'
lãng	聾 lóng	lung	'hearing-impaired'
điếc	失聰 shīcōng	thấtthông	'deaf'; cf. VS điếctai
mù	盲 máng	mang	'blind'
câm	噤 jìn	cấm	'mute'
liếm	舔 tián	thiểm	'lick'; cf. VS nếm
ngửi	嗅 xìu	khứu	'smell'; cf. 聞 wén → hửi
mó, mò	摸 mō	mô	'grope'; cf. VS sờ
hôn	吻 wěn	vẫn	'kiss'; cf. 問 wèn → hỏi, 聞 wén → hửi

Table 6.O - Insects, pests, and parasites

 

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
chí	蝨 shī	siết	'louse'; M 蝨 shī < MC ʂit < OC *srit
kén	蠶 cán	tằm	'silkworm'; M 蠶 cán < MC ʑɤm < OC tʂjə:m
nhộng	蛹 yǒng	dũng	'nympha'
muỗi	螡 wén	vân	'mosquito'; Hainanese /me11/
ruồi	蠅 yíng	dăng	'fly'; also VS nhặng, lằng; OC ljəŋ; Austroasiatic origin suggested
sâu	蟲 chóng	trùng	'insect'; also VS trùn, giun, sán
giòi	蚴 yòu	ấu	'larva'
gián	蟑螂 zhāngláng	trươnglang	'cockroach'; VS gián
thằnlằn	蝘蜓 yǎntíng	yểnđình	'wall lizard'
chuồnchuồn	蜻蜓 qīngtíng	thanhđình	'dragonfly'
châuchấu	蟋蟀 xīshuài	tấtsuất	'cricket'
đỉa	蛭 zhì	điệt	'leech'; also 'rết' (scorpion); OC tīt
rắn	蛇 shé	xà	'snake'; also 虵 shé; cf. 也 yě (SV dã)

 

Table 6.P - Animals (domestic, wild, aquatic)

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
cá	魚 yú	ngư	'fish'; also /ka5/ + morpheme; 'cá-' as classifier; ex. 鯨魚 jīngyú → cákinh 'whale'
lươn	鱔 shàn	thiện	'eel'
gà	雞 jī	kê	'chicken'
vịt	鴨 yā	áp	'duck'
ngỗng	鵝 é	nga	'goose'; also VS ngang
chó	狗 gǒu	cẩu	'dog'
cún	犬 quán	khuyển	'puppy'
mèo	貓 māo	miêu	'cat'
chuột	鼠 shǔ	thử	'rat'
dê	羊 yáng	dương	'goat'; M 羊 yáng < MC jaŋ < OC laŋ; Starostin: Protoform jă(k)/jăŋ 'goat, yak'; Tib. g-jag 'yak'; Kachin ja3 'wild goat'; Lepcha jo/k 'yak'; dialects: Chaozhou iẽ12, Shanghai iã32
trâu	牛 níu	ngưu	'water buffalo'; also VS ngầu (cf. Northern Mandarin 'gung-ho')
bò	牳 mǔ	mậu	'cow'; M 牳 mǔ ~ 母 mǔ (mẫu, mô) < MC mow, mʌw < OC mjəʔ; cognate with Sino-Tibetan forms (Shafer’s list: OB ba, Burig bā, Luśei b@ń, etc.); also Chin. 牝 byi/ 'cow'; cf. buffalo forms in Luśei, Khami, Karenic, etc.
ngựa	午 wǔ / 馬 mă	ngọ, mã	'horse'; cf. Sino-Tibetan kor (Kuki, Luśei, Aimol, etc.); Haudricourt: 午 wǔ linked with Daic Lao səńə, Tay Blanc sańa, Dioi sa, Mak ńo
voi	為 wēi	vi	'elephant'; attested archaic SV 'vi' (perform); modern Mandarin /wèi/ 'for'
lừa	驢 lǚ	lư	'donkey'
thỏ	兔 tù	thố	'hare'
nai	鹿 lù	lục	'deer'; Shafer: Sino-Tibetan ŋai (Kuki, Luśei, Aimol, Purum, Kom, Lamgang, Meithlei, Maring, Ukhrul, Dimasa, Tipora, Banpara, etc.)
cọp	虎 hǔ	hổ	'tiger'
hùm	甝 hán	hàm	'white tiger'
consư	師子 shīzi	sưtử	'lion'; cf. 子 zǐ → 'con-'
beo	豹 bào	báo	'leopard'
gấu	熊 xióng	hùng	'bear'; Karlgren: M 熊 xióng < MC ɣiung < AC g'iung < OC g'ium (dissimilation)
chim	禽 qín	cầm	'bird'
bồcâu	白鴿 báigē	bạchcáp	'pigeon'; 白 bái → VS bồ; 鴿 gē < MC kɤp < OC kjə:p; Starostin: Tang attestation
quạ	鴉 yā	nha, va	'crow'; M 鴉 yā < MC ʔa, ʔra; Starostin: 'crow' (L.Zhou); variant of 烏 ʔa:

 

Table 6.Q - Man-made objects and tools

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
nhà	家 jiā	gia	'house'; j- ~ nh-; cf. 屋 wù (SV ốc) where /wu4/ could evolve into nhà
lều	蘆 lú	lư	'hut'
cửa	戶 hù	hộ	'door'; also VS ngõ 'gate'; M 戶 hù < MC ɠɔ < OC gha:ʔ; Starostin: Sino-Tibetan 'door'; cf. Tib. parallels; Viet. ngõ shows nasalization of Chinese stops
cối	臼 jìu	cữu	'mortar'; M 臼 jìu < MC gʌw < OC guʔ
dao	刀 dāo	đao	'knife'; M 刀 dāo < MC tʌw < OC ta:w; /d-/ ~ /j-/
bàn	案 àn	án	'table'; M 案 àn < MC ʔɒn < OC ʔa:ns; cf. 按 àn → VS bấm
mâm	盤 pán	bàn	'tray'
ghế	椅 yí	ỷ	'chair'; M 椅 yǐ
rương	箱 xiāng	sương	'suitcase'; also VS hòm; M 箱 xiāng < MC sjaŋ < OC saŋ; s-, x- ~ h-, r-
buồng	房 fáng	phòng	'room'; M 房 fáng < MC baŋ < OC bwɒŋ
giường	床 chuáng	sàng	'bed'; M 床 chuáng < MC ʂaŋ < OC tʂhraŋ; ch- ~ gi-
lồng	籠 lóng	—	'cage'; cf. 案籠 ànlóng → VS lồngbàn 'tray cover'
đèn	燈 dēng	đăng	'lamp'; cf. 燈籠 dēnglóng → VS lồngđèn 'lantern'
bếp	庖 páo	bào	'kitchen'; M 庖 páo < MC bạw < OC bhū < PC brū; cf. 匏 páo (biều) → VS bí
lò	爐 lú	lư	'stove'
cũi	櫃 guì	quỹ	'cupboard'; also VS quầy 'counter'; M 櫃 guì < MC gwɨ < OC gruts(-js); Starostin: 'box, coffer'; Early Zhou form 匱
tủ	櫝 dú	độc	'cabinet'; M 櫝 dú < MC duk < OC lho:k; d- ~ h-
chén	盞 zhàn	tràn	'bowl'; M 盞 zhàn < MC can < OC tsjre:nʔ
đũa	箸 zhú	trừ	'chopstick'; M 箸 zhú < MC ɖʊ < OC dras; also SV trợ, chừ; Hainanese /du4/
thìa	匙 chí	thi, chuỷ	'spoon'; also VS chìa (as in 鎖匙 suǒchí 'key'); M 匙 chí < MC tʂe < OC dhe
cửi	機 jī	cơ	'weaving apparatus'; also VS máy 'device', dịp 'opportunity'; M 機 jī < MC kyj < OC kjəj; Starostin: 'device, apparatus'; later 'circumstances'; cf. 幾 jī (SV cơ) → VS mấy
đường	唐 táng	đàng	'path'; archaic usage; modern Mandarin 道 dào (SV đạo), 途 tú (SV đồ)
lối	路 lù	lộ	'road'; also 'kind, sort, class'; cf. colloquial VS usage: 那人那麼路呢 Nà rén nàme lù ne → 'Người đó saomà lối thế'
ghe	舟 zhōu	chu	'canoe'; plausibly VS đò; cf. 渡 dù (SV độ) → VS đò
xuồng	船 chuán	thuyền	'boat'; VS xuồng (small), SV thuyền (large)
tàu	艘 sāo	tầu	'ship'
buồm	帆 fán	phàm	'sail mast'
chèo	棹 zhào	trạo	'paddle'
chèo	掉 diào	điếu	'row'

 

Table 6.R - Functional words and grammatical markers

Sinitic-Vietnamese	Chinese	Sino-Vietnamese	Notes
với	與 yú	dữ	'with'; M 與 yǔ, yú, yù < MC jʊ < OC laʔ
và	和 hé, hè	hoà	'and'; also VS hùa 'take side', ùa 'overwhelm', hoạ 'join in';
bị	被 bèi	bị	passive (negative); possibly linked to VS bởi < bởilẽ; cf. 爲了 wèile
được	得 dé	đắc	passive (positive); 'gain'
há	何 hé	hà	'why'
huốnghồ	何況 hékuàng	hàhuống	'in spite of'
huốngchi	況且 kuàngqiě	huốngthả	'not to mention'
nhưngmà	而且 érqiě	nhithả	'but'
từ	自 zì	tự	'from'; cf. colloquial 打 dă (SV đả) 'from'
cùng	跟 gēn	căn	'along with'; also VS gốc, gót
tới	到 dào	đáo	'to'; also VS đến
chotới	直到 zhídào	trựcđáo	'until'; also VS chođến; 直 zhí ~ VS cho
dođó	所以 suǒyǐ	sởdĩ	'therefore'; 所 suǒ ~ VS do; 以 yǐ ~ VS đó
ở	於 yú	vu	'at, in'; M 於 yú < ʔə < OC ʔa
đốivới	對於 duìyú	đốivu	'regarding to'
vìthế	於是 yúshì	vuthị	'as a result'; VS ở, về 'at, in, regarding'
để	以 yǐ	dĩ	'in order to'
tại	在 zài	tại	'in'
trong	中 zhōng	trung	'inside'
đang	當 dāng	đang	'is being'
trongkhi	正在 zhèngzài	chánhtại	'while'
vẫn	仍 réng	nhưng	'still'
nhưngvẫn	仍然 réngrán	nhưngnhiên	'but still'; cf. SV vẫnnhiên
rồi	了 lē, liăo	liễu	'already'; also particle of exclamation
la	啦 lā	lạp	particle of exclamation or question
bởi	由 yóu	du	'because'; cf. 郵 yóu → bưu, 柚 yóu → bưởi, 游 yóu → bơi
bởivì	由於 yóuyú	duvu	'because'; also VS dovì
vìlà	爲了 wèile	viliễu	'because'; also VS bởilẽ; 了 lē ~ là
vì	爲 wèi	vị	'for'
gì	啥 shà	xá	'what'; also VS sao 'why'; Beijing 啥 shă; phonetic stem 舍 shè < MC ʂia < OC ɕia
vìsao	爲什麼 wēishěme	vithậpma	'why'; M 爲什麼 wèishěnme; Beijing dialect 為啥 wēishă → VS vìsao
lẽra	其實 qíshí	kỳthực	'in reality'; also VS thựcra; q- ~ l-, sh- ~ r-
mựa	莫 mò	mạc	'do not'
chỉn	盡 jǐn	tận	'only'; modern VS chỉ
bui	維 wéi	duy	'only'
liễn	連 lián	liên	'even'; modern VS lẫn

Beyond their direct origin from close Chinese cognates – such as vì 爲 wèi ‘for’ (SV vị) or trong 中 zhōng ‘inside’ (SV trung) – many Vietnamese forms represent extended usages of Sino-Vietnamese elements. Examples include tại 在 zài ‘in’ (SV tại), được 得 dé (SV đắc) functioning as a positive passive marker in contrast to bị 被 bèi as a negative passive marker, tốt 德 dé (SV đức) ‘good’, and đang 當 dāng (SV đang) ‘is being’, all of which have been grammaticalized as function words. These cases illustrate only a small fraction of the vast Sino-Vietnamese stratum embedded in Vietnamese, encompassing not only functional markers but also abstract concepts and general vocabulary. In essence, aside from their extended roles in Vietnamese, the diachronic development of these items parallels that of their Chinese counterparts, following the same evolutionary trajectory across both languages.

III) Sino-Vietnamese words revisited

When one looks beyond the most elementary Sinitic stratum, the pervasiveness of Sino‑Vietnamese vocabulary becomes immediately apparent. Choose almost any word in a Vietnamese paragraph, or even in a short sentence, and the odds are high that it will be Sino‑Vietnamese in origin, at least in an older form. In longer sentences, the majority of items cannot be replaced by hypothetical native equivalents without a loss of nuance or precision.

This dominance is borne out quantitatively. Chinese loanwords, known as Hán‑Việt or Sino‑Vietnamese, make up roughly sixty‑five percent of the Vietnamese lexicon. They are spelled and pronounced in a distinctively Vietnamese manner, a system that appears to have stabilized after the tenth century, when courtly Mandarin ceased to function as a living language in Annam. Their roots, however, lie firmly in Middle Chinese. As Bernhard Karlgren observed (MFEA, Bulletin 22, 1954, p. 216), the Sino‑Vietnamese layer represents a relatively complete formation by the end of the Tang Dynasty. Phonologically, these words align closely with the Middle Chinese system of some twenty initials and more than three hundred finals. Crucially, the eight Vietnamese tones correspond neatly to Tang‑era tonal categories, preserving the rhyming structures and tonal matrices described in works such as the Tangyun and Guangyun (Nguyễn Tài Cẩn, 1979).

This correspondence explains why Tang poetry remains accessible and aesthetically resonant in Vietnamese literary circles. Even today, many Vietnamese poets compose regulated verse in Tang style, adhering to strict tonal and rhyming conventions. By contrast, modern Chinese poetry has largely lost this connection, since Mandarin’s tonal system no longer matches Tang‑era prosody. Cantonese, like Vietnamese, preserves many of these archaic phonological features, which accounts for their striking similarities.

Comparatively, much as Latin‑derived vocabulary functions in English, Sino‑Vietnamese words are instantly recognizable to Vietnamese speakers without requiring specialized training. Their sound changes generally follow consistent phonological rules, producing a harmonious system of correspondences. Yet not all forms align perfectly. Dialectal variation, phonetic erosion, and performance factors have introduced irregularities, creating one‑to‑many relationships between Chinese sources and Vietnamese outcomes.

Despite such divergences, Sino‑Vietnamese words, whether in their original or extended grammaticalized forms, remain indispensable to the structure and expression of the Vietnamese language, for example,

學 xué ~ học (study),

文 wén ~ văn (literature),

字 zì ~ chữ (word),

詩 shī ~ thi (poetry),

樂 yuè ~ nhạc (music),

練 liàn ~ luyện (practice),

福 fú ~ phước (luck),

公 gōng ~ công (public),

私 sī ~ tư (private),

錢 qián ~ tiền (money),

男 nán ~ nam (male),

女 nǚ ~ nữ (female),

婦女 fùnǚ ~ phụnữ (woman),

青年 qīngnián ~ thanhniên (youth),

祖國 zǔguó ~ tổquốc (nation),

江山 jiāngshān ~ giangsan (country),

家庭 jiātíng ~ giađình (family), etc.

The same pattern extends to modern concepts, many of which entered Vietnamese through Sino‑Japanese mediation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Wang Li et al. 1956, p. 9). Thus we find

政府 zhèngfǔ ~ chínhphủ (government),

自由 zìyóu ~ tựdo (liberty),

資本 zīběn ~ tưbản (capitalist',

投資 tóuzī ~ đầutư (investment),

經濟 jīngjì ~ kinhtế (economics),

階級 jiējí ~ giaicấp (social class),

心理學 xīnlǐxué ~ tâmlýhọc (psychology),

文人 wénrén ~ vănnhân (literati),

學者 xuézhě ~ họcgiả (scholar),

教堂 jiàotáng ~ giáođường (church),

大學 dàxué ~ đạihọc (university),

哲學 zhéxué ~ triếtthọc (philosophy),

意識 yìshì ~ ýthức (consciousness),

相對 xiāngduì ~ tươngđối (relative),

絕對 juéduì ~ tuyệtđối (absolute),

The principle is the same when one considers compounds built from Chinese core syllabic stems that generate entire families of Vietnamese expressions. Examples include

再三 zàisān ~ haiba (twice or thrice),

三番兩次 sānfānliăngcì ~ nămlầnbảylượt (so many times),

一而再, 再而三 yī'érzài, zài'érsān ~ mộtrồihai, hairồiba (again and again),

主日 Zhǔrì ~ Chủnhật (Sunday) [ Also, VS 'Chúanhật' (Day of God) ],

周二 zhōu'èr ~ Thứhai (In Vietnamese, it is the second day of the week to follow 'Sunday', namely, 'Monday', Chin. 'Tuesday'),

周三 zhōusān ~ Thứba (In Vietnamese, it is the third day of the week to follow 'Monday', namely, 'Tuesday', Chin. 'Wednesday'), etc.

Even more revealing are cases where Vietnamese diverges from the expected Sino‑Vietnamese reflex. 周年 zhōunián, which in literary usage denotes 'anniversary', survives in the vernacular as thôinôi, literally ‘the time when a baby leaves the cradle’. This appears to be a corrupted form, created by popular mispronunciation of the learned word in earlier times. A linguist may then ask about đầytháng, the 'baby's first month shower'. This is not equivalent to modern Mandarin 滿月 mănyuè ('full moon'), but rather reflects a contextual shift: the Vietnamese expression derives from the mother’s full‑month recovery period, a practice still central in both Vietnamese and Chinese culture and known as 'điởcử' or 坐月子 zuòyuèzi (one‑month confinement after childbirth). The Vietnamese form đầytháng is thus both phonetically plausible and culturally grounded.

Such examples could be multiplied. The semantic fields of 'birthday' (生日 shēngrì ~ sanhnhật), 'age' (歲數 suìshù ~ sốtuổi), or the cyclical designations of the zodiac – 'Year of the Goat' (屬羊 shǔyáng ~ tuổiDê), 'Year of the Rooster' (屬雞 shǔjī ~ tuổiGà) – all demonstrate the same pattern. Across domains both ancient and modern, Sino‑Vietnamese etyma and their vernacular counterparts stand side by side, matching one another with remarkable fidelity and continuing to shape the expressive resources of the Vietnamese language.

In Chinese, virtually every morphemic syllable, each character in a disyllabic formation, can in principle be used independently as a complete word. For this reason, Chinese and Japanese specialists often classify such items as disyllabic words, or binoms. In Vietnamese, however, many of the syllables that make up Sino‑Vietnamese binoms are not free to stand alone. They appear only in fixed combinations, bound to one another in ways that limit their independent use. The situation is comparable to English borrowings from Latin or Greek: words such as sociologist, geology, librarian, intersection, missionaries, or psychology contain recognizable elements like socio‑, geo‑, lib‑, inter‑, or psych‑, but these cannot be deployed in isolation as ordinary words.

In most cases, the Chinese syllabic morphemes that entered Vietnamese underwent further processes of transformation – innovation, adaptation, and localization – that reshaped them into a distinct lexical class. It is this class, conventionally termed Sinitic‑Vietnamese, that will occupy our attention in the following section.

IV) Sinitic-Vietnamese words reviewed

Let us wrap up some randomly picked Sinitic Vietnamese words.

• buồng 房 fáng 'room'
  
• đũa 箸 zhú 'chopsticks'
  
• thìa 匙 chí 'spoon'
  
• ăn 唵 ăn 'eat' [cf. modern M 吃 chī 'eat']
  
• uống 飲 yǐn 'drink' [cf. modern M 喝 hè 'drink']
  
• đái 尿 niào 'urinate'
  
• ỉa 屙 ē 'defecate' [also VS ốm 'ill']
  
• đẻ 生 shēng 'give birth'
  
• chạy 走 zǒu 'run'
  
• đìa 池 chí 'pool'
  
• bốmẹ 父母 fùmǔ 'parents'
  
• chúbác 叔伯 shūbó 'uncles'
  
• chịem 姊妹 jiěmēi 'sisters'
  
• anhchị 兄姐 xiōngjiě 'siblings'
  
• anhem 兄弟 xiōngdì 'brothers' [ancient VS anhtam]
  
• cậumợ 舅母 jìumǔ 'uncle and aunty'
  
• buồngngủ 臥房 wòfáng 'bedroom'
  
• bưngbít 矇蔽 méngbì 'hoodwink'
  
• bênhvực 包庇 bāobì 'take side'
  
• ngànhnghề 行業 hángyè 'profession'
  
• trướctiên 首先 shǒuqiān 'firstly'
  
• thươngyêu 疼愛 téngài 'loving'
  
• dandíu 有染 yǒurǎn 'have an affair with'
  
• thùhằn 仇恨 chóuhèn 'hatred'
  
• tứcgiận 生氣 shēngqì 'anger'
  
• chờđợi 期待 qídài 'expecting'
  
• sânkhấu 劇場 jùchǎng 'stage'
  
• trườnghọc 學堂 xuétáng 'school'
  
• tầmbậy 三八 sānbā 'nonsense'
  
• nóixàm 瞎說 xiàshuō 'talk nonsense'
  
• giôngbão 暴風 bàofēng 'rainstorm'
  
• đấtđai 土地 tǔdì 'land'
  
• chốitừ 推辭 tuìcí 'refuse'
  
• rútlui 退走 tuìzǒu 'withdraw'
  
• lẽsống 理想 lǐxiǎng 'ideal'
  
• căngthẳng 緊張 jǐnzhāng 'urgent'
  
• riêngtư 隱私 yǐnsī 'privacy'
  
• chửimắng 咒罵 zhòumà 'scolding'
  
• trongsạch 清潔 qīngjié 'clean, pure'
  
• banngày 白日 báirì 'daytime'
  
• bantrưa 白晝 báizhòu 'noon time'
  
• chạngvạng 旁晚 pángwǎn 'dusk'
  
• tốităm 黑暗 hēiàn 'darkness'
  
• quêhương 家鄉 jiāxiāng 'homeland'
  
• lánggiềng 鄰居 línjū 'neighbor'
  
• bầubạn 陪伴 péibàn 'accompany'
  
• xơitái 吃生 chīshēng 'eat raw'
  
• đánhcá 打魚 dǎyú 'fishing'
  
• đánhbạc 賭博 dǔbó 'gambling'
  
• ănthua 輸贏 shūyíng 'competing'
  
• suônsẻ 順利 shùnlì 'smoothly'
  
• hiếuthảo 孝順 xiàoshùn 'filial piety'
  
• sẵnsàng 現成 xiànchéng 'ready'
  
• bồihồi 徘徊 páihuái 'melancholy'
  
• bắtcóc 綁架 bǎngjià 'kidnap'
  
• hòhẹn 約會 yuèhuì 'dating'
  
• tháovác 操持 cāochí 'manage'
  
• côngcuộc 工作 gōngzuò 'task'
  
• xinlỗi 道歉 dàoqiàn 'apologize'
  
• xinchào 見過 jiànguò 'greeting'
  
• tiềncủa 錢財 qiáncái 'wealth'
  
• vốnliếng 本錢 běnqián 'capital'
  
• đitiền 隨錢 suíqián 'give monetary gift'
  
• cógiá 好價 hǎojià 'high‑priced goods'
  
• củacải 財產 cáichǎn 'property'
  
• đánhcắp 打劫 dǎjié 'rob'
  
• ngâythơ 幼稚 yòuzhì 'naive'
  
• khônlanh 靈巧 língqiǎo 'quick, intelligent'
• lanhlợi 伶俐 línglì 'witty'

and the wordlist can go on and on.

Like Sino‑Vietnamese, the class of Sinitic‑Vietnamese words also consists of Chinese loanwords rather than cognates of basic etyma. What distinguishes them is that they have been thoroughly localized, that is, completely Vietnamized in form and function. Some may even predate the Middle Chinese stratum. A case in point is VS buồngngủ, from 臥房 wòfáng (SV ngoạphòng), the source of later Sino‑Vietnamese formations such as 臥龍君 Wòlóngjūn (Ngoạlongquân, the title of King Lê Long Đỉnh). Many such items are full variations or modifications of original words, sometimes retaining their earlier meanings, sometimes diverging into new semantic territory.

In other instances, they appear as variants that have evolved from an original form, reshaped through different spellings and pronunciations as though coined from fresh material. Examples include lịchsự, from 歷事 lìshì ('experience'), now meaning 'polite', and tửtế, from 仔細 zǐxì ('meticulous'), now meaning 'kindness'. Their development is analogous to English pairs such as familial and familiar (cf. 慣 guàn, SV 'quán' versus VS quen ‘accustomed’ versus cưng ‘pampered’), infant and infantile (兒 ér for VS nhí versus nhỏ), or road and route (路 lù for SV lộ versus lối). The semantic drift and nuance resemble that seen in English contrasts like coffee and café, blond and blondie, aerospace and airspace, grand and grandiose, entrance and entry, serpent and serpentine. Their phonological reshaping, meanwhile, recalls the multiple adaptations of foreign loanwords in English: pho, banhmi, chowmein, sushi, burrito, taco, kowtow, typhoon, kindergarten, wagon, vendor, agent, bourse, rendezvous, accord, regard, guard, résumé, exposé, mercy, pardon, à la carte, en masse, and many others.

The number of common Vietnamese words of Chinese origin extends far beyond the illustrative examples cited here. The purpose of the list reviewed above is to give readers a sense of the magnitude of Chinese influence on Vietnamese vocabulary, which surpasses the scope of the basic substratal lexicon. Even when compared with the more than four hundred fundamental Sino‑Tibetan cognates discussed in the previous chapter, the Sinitic layer is broader and more pervasive. Apart from later loanwords, a significant portion of fundamental vocabulary may have originated or evolved from shared roots – those of the aboriginal Taic peoples, often identified with the native Yue (百越 or BáchViệt or 'Bod'; see Lacouperie 1887) – in parallel with Chinese. These are native or aboriginal words, traceable to non‑Han languages spoken in southern China, now classified by comparative linguists as Austroasiatic. Vietnamese versions of many such indigenous forms have been repeatedly cited throughout this research:

•  sông 江 jiāng 'river'  
  
• ná 弩 nú 'crossbow' [cf. 拏 ná like 拿 ná (SV nã) VS lấy]  
  
• đường 糖 táng 'sugar'  
  
• dừa 椰 yě 'coconut'  
  
• chuối 蕉 jiāo 'banana'  
  
• soài 檨 shē 'mango'  
  
• bưởi 柚 yóu 'pomelo'  
  
• chanh 橙 chéng 'lemon' [Cf. modern Mandarin 檸檬 níngméng < Eng. 'lemon'; 橙 chéng denotes a citrus, SV camsành]  
  
• trầu 檳榔 bīngláng 'betel areca' [Note the interchange between Mandarin /bīngl-/ and ancient Viet‑Chamic /bl-/ > Vietnamese /tr-/]  
  
• mít 波羅蜜 pōlómì 'jackfruit'  
  
• sầuriêng 榴蓮 líulián 'durian'

along with many others such as 'lúa' 來 lái (paddy) ~ 'gạo' 稻 dào (rice), 'chó' 狗 gǒu (dog), 'cọp' 虎 hǔ (tiger), 'voi' 為 wēi (elephant), 'gấu' 熊 xiōng (bear), etc. as have been quoted in the previous chapter.

In any case, the list could be extended indefinitely; it is by no means confined to the examples already cited. The essential point is that no comparable analysis can be carried out with any of the Mon‑Khmer languages. Nor do they exhibit the peculiar linguistic traits that Vietnamese and Chinese share in morphology, phonetics, tonal organization, metaphorical idioms, and distinctive expressions. The two languages also converge in much of their grammar, including the use of classifiers, grammatical markers, prepositions, conjunctions, and other fine structural details. None of the Mon‑Khmer languages – apart from a few features that certain Miao dialects display, if one accepts Forrest’s classification of them as Mon‑Khmer – shows even the slightest trace of such distinctive correspondences.

Conclusion

The survey of Vietnamese and Chinese correspondences in the basic vocabulary stratum demonstrates that the relationship between the two languages is neither incidental nor superficial. From substratal cognates that reach back to shared Austroasiatic and Sino‑Tibetan roots, to the massive Sino‑Vietnamese layer derived from Middle Chinese, and finally to the fully localized Sinitic‑Vietnamese forms, the evidence points to a long continuum of contact, adaptation, and integration.

What emerges is a linguistic identity that is at once hybrid and distinctive. Vietnamese has absorbed Chinese elements on a scale unmatched by any other Mon‑Khmer language, yet it has also reshaped them through its own phonology, tonal system, and cultural imagination. The result is a lexicon where learned binoms coexist with vernacularized compounds, where Tang‑era tonal matrices still resonate in poetry, and where everyday expressions carry traces of Yue, Han, and local innovation alike.

The magnitude of this influence cannot be overstated: Chinese loanwords permeate every register of Vietnamese, from the most elevated literary diction to the most ordinary household vocabulary. At the same time, the persistence of native Austroasiatic forms ensures that Vietnamese remains anchored in its own heritage. The interplay of these two forces – indigenous substratum and Sinitic superstratum – defines the language’s character and explains its unique position in East and Southeast Asia.

Chapter 11 thus closes with a reframing of Vietnamese linguistic identity: not as a passive recipient of Chinese influence, but as an active participant in a centuries‑long process of borrowing, localization, and creative renewal.

x X x

ENDNOTES

---

(M)^ Suppression of Vietnamese culture

When the Ming invaded; all classical Vietnamese printing blocks, books and materials were burned and suppressed. Vietnamese records like gazettes, maps, and registers were instructed to be burned, saved for one copy.

This policy was strictly enforced by Yongle emperor. His command to the army in Vietnam in July 1406 is as follow:

兵 入。 除 釋 道經板 經文 不 燬。 外 一切 書板 文字 以 至俚俗童蒙 所 習。 如 上 大人 丘乙 已 之類。 片紙 隻 字 悉 皆 燬 之。  其 境內 中國 所 立碑 刻 則 存 之。 但是 安南 所 立者 悉 壞 之。 一字 不存。
 
"Once our army enter Annam (Vietnam currently), except Buddhist and Taoist text; all books and notes, including folklore and children book, should be burnt. The stelas erected by China should be protected carefully, while those erected by Annamese (Vietnamese currently), should be completely annihilated, do not spare even one character."

Yongle's command on 21 May 1407 read:

"I have repeatedly told you all to burn all Annamese books, including folklore and children books and the local stelas should be destroyed immediately upon sight. Recently I heard our soldiers hesitated and read those books before burning them. Most soldiers do not know how to read, if this policy is adapted widely, it will be a waste of our time. Now you have to strictly obey my previous command, and burn all local books upon sight, without hesitation."

For this reason almost no vernacular chữNôm texts survive from before the Ming invasion. Various ancient sites such as pagoda Bao Minh were looted and destroyed. The Ming dynasty applied various Sinicization policies to spread more Chinese culture in the occupied nation.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Chinese_domination_of_Vietnam

(T)^ 帝 dì carries the weight of 'Supreme Power', later institutionalized as the title of the Emperor, distinct from 王 wáng 'king'. Classical sources reinforce this distinction:

• 《爾雅·釋詁》: 王者，君 也
• 《呂氏春秋》: 帝 者，天下 之 所 適；王 者，天下 之 所往
• 《管子·兵法篇》: 察 道 者 帝，通 德 者 王
• 《史記·高帝紀》: 乃 卽 皇帝 位 汜水 之 南
• 《易·鼎卦》: 聖人 亨，以 享 上帝
• 《書·舜典》: 肆類 于 上帝

Hence, 上帝 Shàngdì (SV Thượngđế) emerges as a theological extension of Trời: 'the Supreme Being', 'the Almighty', 'Alas', or 'God'.

(C)^ Read more at The case of "chết"