Chapter 8 - The Mon-Khmer Association

Executive Summary

1. Basic word lists at crossroads
   
   The comparative study of Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer basic vocabulary has long stood at the center of debates over Vietnamese classification. While numerals and a handful of core terms suggest Austroasiatic connections, these correspondences alone cannot account for the full complexity of Vietnamese etymology. The evidence places Vietnamese at a crossroads: its basic lexicon shows overlap with Mon-Khmer, yet its broader structure and vocabulary point decisively toward Sinitic influence.
   
   
2. Comparative Mon-Khmer and Vietnamese basic words
   
   Detailed comparison reveals that many Mon-Khmer items align more closely with Mường than with modern Vietnamese, suggesting secondary contact rather than primary inheritance. At the same time, numerous Vietnamese words once assumed to be Mon-Khmer are attested in early Chinese glossaries (Éryá, Fāngyán) as Yue loanwords into Chinese. Examples such as sông 江 jiāng ('river'), chuối 蕉 jiāo ('banana'), and gạo 稻 dào ('rice') illustrate how shared etyma often reflect Yue substrata rather than Austroasiatic roots.
   
   
3. Cultural and polysyllabic approaches: Distinguishing Vietnamese vocabulary from Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer
   
   A polysyllabic (or disyllabic) methodology uncovers correspondences obscured by the traditional monosyllabic lens. Vietnamese compounds and fixed expressions often reveal one-to-many relationships with Chinese etyma, demonstrating semantic flexibility and phonological adaptation beyond what Mon-Khmer parallels can explain. This approach highlights the cultural and linguistic integration of Chinese elements into Vietnamese, from classifiers and grammatical markers to idiomatic expressions.

x X x

Luce, G. H. (1965) in “Danaw, a Dying Austroasiatic Language” (pp. 104-129) – referring to Danaw (/tʿănɔʔ/), a Tibeto‑Burmic language spoken by a hill tribe in Burma – presents two sets of wordlists totaling 245 entries, including basic vocabulary. The first set highlights correspondences across several Austroasiatic languages, specifically Mon, Danaw, Riang (/rəyɑŋ/), Palaung (Panku), and Wa (Tung Wa) (see Chapter 6 - The languages of China before the Chinese.) 

The second set expands the comparison, incorporating Vietnamese forms alongside other Austroasiatic languages such as Khmer, Bahnar, and Mundari, as well as Austronesian languages like Javanese and Malay, and even Old Burmese from the Tibeto‑Burmic family. Strikingly, many of these cross‑family vocabularies appear cognate with Vietnamese.

It is important, however, to approach this list with caution. Not all items belong to the same genetic family; loanwords inevitably occur across linguistic boundaries. For non‑specialists, this caveat is sufficient: unless proven otherwise, apparent cognates in such comparative lists may reflect borrowing rather than shared inheritance.

Luce’s detailed wordlists contain many lexemes resembling Vietnamese forms, and it appears that these same data have long been employed by Austroasiatic specialists to justify grouping Vietnamese within the Mon‑Khmer family. In addition to the "Vietnamese" column and the "Comments" column used to annotate and explain the cited items, this study introduces a further dimension: the inclusion of Chinese elements. These are brought in to highlight etyma that may plausibly be considered cognates or derivatives from a shared origin. The rationale for including Chinese forms, even in cases where no Vietnamese equivalent was originally listed, is to demonstrate their association with Vietnamese items in comparison to parallels drawn from other languages.

Because many of the cited Chinese words also show cognacy with other Sino‑Tibetan etyma, it is reasonable to suggest that they may share common roots with Yue, or at least with ancestral Taic forms. Such a postulation provides a framework for viewing Vietnamese, Chinese, and Austroasiatic Mon‑Khmer forms as having evolved from proto‑Taic, or from later Taic‑Yue strata. Without this perspective, it is difficult to explain why so many etyma across these linguistic families display striking similarities, suggesting kinship rather than coincidence.

It must be noted, however, that cognates are rarely attested across all branches of a given family, even among basic vocabulary. This pattern indicates that many of these forms may in fact be old loanwords. Nevertheless, the associations drawn here serve an important purpose: they reinforce the argument that ancestral Yue roots should be placed prior to, and foundational for, the later Sinitic elements, as outlined in Chapter 7.

I) Basic word lists at crossroads

Outline: Methodological Preface to Comparative Table

A) Methodology in Vietnamese historical linguistics

• Scholars typically begin with a premise and apply comparative linguistic techniques established by earlier researchers.
• Each new theory tends to replace the previous one, reflecting the evolving nature of the field.
• Surveys often rely on glossarial comparisons between Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer languages, considered a safe entry point for newcomers.

B) Example of Danaw and Mon-Khmer comparanda

• New researchers often reproduce tabulations similar to Luce’s wordlist for Danaw, a Tibeto-Burmic language with many Mon-Khmer features.
• Early Austroasiatic specialists made Mon-Khmer basic words widely available, and these were extensively quoted.
• Methodological limitation: focus on Mon-Khmer correspondences while neglecting Chinese parallels due to lack of expertise.

Note: The author has intentionally omitted items from unrelated languages that show no cognacy with the Vietnamese etyma in Luce’s two tables. In the lists, meanwhile, the initial Vietnamese notation in the form Viet. /…/ (e.g., Viet. /nhà/) is reproduced exactly as cited by Luce.

Asterisks (*) ranging from one to six are used to indicate the relative degree of cognateness between Vietnamese and Chinese for each listed item.

Table 1A - Vietnamese and Chinese vs. Mon-Khmer etymologies

Vietnamese	English	Mon-Khmer etymologies	Chinese	Comments
kênkên	vulture	Old Mon /timmāt/, /tammāt/, Modern Mon /tamāt/, Danaw /lɔŋ2tɑʔ2/, Riang White /lɑŋ\tɑʔ\ /, Black /klɑŋ-tɑʔ\ /, Palaung /lɑŋ3ɗɑ2/, Wa /klɑŋ4préŋ2/, Old Khmer /tmāt/, Old Burmese /lāŋta/, Shan /laŋta/, /naŋta/	鷲 jìu (SV tựu) | M 鷲 jìu < MC dzuw  < OC *zuɡs | Also: VS kềnkền= 鷲+鷲 jìujìu (tựtụu)	****It looks like only the Chinese and Vietnamese. forms are cognates.
đực	male	(animal) Old Mon /kmak/, Modern /kmak/	特 tè (SV đặc, VS đực) | M 特 (犆) tè, té < MC dok < OC *dɯːɡ | Note: this etymon means male (animal) in ancient time. According to Starostin: male animal, bull. Used also for homonymous *dhǝ̄k 'be straight-rising'; *dhǝ̄k 'a match, a mate'. In later times the character was frequently used instead of 犆 *dhǝ̄k 'single; special' q.v. The regular Sino-Viet. form is đặc.	******While the Chinese and Vietnamese forms are clearly cognate, the other etymologies listed by Luce appear largely irrelevant for this item, aside from an apparent initial cluster km- that lacks correspondences in both Khmer and Vietnamese.
độc	poison	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kyɪ/, Danaw /tɑŋ2tsɤʔ4/, Riang White /kɤtjɔʔ\ /, Black /kətsɔʔ/, no Palaung and Wa forms	毒 dú (SV độc, VS nọc, 'venom') |  M 毒 dú < MC *dawk < OC *l'uːɡ	****The Riang forms look like the Vietnamese and Chinese cognates with something similar to VS /chấtđộc/ 'poisonous substance' which is equivalent to to Chin. 毒質 dúzhí ~ SV 'độcchất' in familiarly reverse compound form.
đồngbạc	rupee, tical	Old Mon /dinkel/, Modern Mon /dakew/, Danaw /(rɤn2)ăplɑʔ2/, Riang White /piɑ-/, Black /(ron)pyɑ-/, Palaung /byɑ2/, Wa /plɑh5/, T'eng /nia/ (money)	M 銅幣 tóngbì (SV đồngtệ) → VS 'đồngbạc' (monetary unit VNĐ 'piaster') || M 幣 bì < MC biaj < OC *beds | Cf 銅板 tóngbǎn (SV đồngbản) ~ VS 'đồngbạc', hence, 'đồng' + 'bạc' | See the etymology of 'bạc' from 白 bái (SV 'bạch')	***Of course, only the Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate and have nothing to do with those in other languages.
đỏ	red	Old Mon /birket/, /baket/, Modern Mon /baket/, Danaw /tsôn4/, Riang White and Black /roŋ\ /, Palaung /rén2/, Wa /rɑu5/, Khasi /saw/	彤 tóng (SV đồng, VS đỏ) | M 彤 tóng < MC dawŋ < OC *l'uːŋ	***In Chin. there are several words for ‘red’, but /tóng/ is the most likely cognate to VS 'đỏ' /dɔ3/ \ 彤 tóng, SV đồng /dawŋ/ ~>  /doũ2/ ~> 'đỏ' /dɔ3/, cf. 痛 tòng (SV thống) /dawŋ/ ~> /t'oũ2/ ~> VS 'đau' /daw/ (pain). In the meanwhile, the Riang /roŋ\ / suggests something about Vietnamese 'hồng' /hawŋ/ ~> /hoũ2/ ~> 'hau' /haw1/ (pink) which is cognate to the Chin. 紅 hóng, also meaning ‘red’, VS 'hường' (pink).
đắng	bitter	Viet. /đắng/, no Old Mon, mod. /kɑtɑŋ/, Danaw /tsɑŋ4/, Riang White /tjiaŋʔ-/, Black /tsaŋ-/, Palaung /saŋ2/, Wa /soŋ2/, Khmer /hāŋ/, Sakai /kědetn/, Besisi /kědeg/, Nicobarese /tēak/, Srê /rəhiaŋ/, /bətaŋ/ Stieng, Bahnar /tāŋ/, Khasi /kthang/	辛(苦) qīn(kǔ) (SV tân(khổ)), VS 'đắng(cay)') | M 辛 xīn < MC sin < OC *siŋ | According to Starostin: the 8th of the Heavenly Stems. Used also for a homonymous *sin 'be bitter, pungent, painful'.	***The Vietnamese for 'đắng' is clearly cognate to those of Mon-Khmer forms, but what appears in Chinese is notable. Unless we reinstate an illogical logics that if the Vietnamese form shares the Austroasiatic etymology with its languages then the Chinese form is not cognate to that of Vietnamese.
đậu	bean	Old Mon /bāy/ (?), Modern Mon /ɓɑi/, Danaw /bɑi4/, Riang White /rɤbɑi-/, Black /rəbɑi-/, /bɑi-/, Palaung /rābɑ'i2/, Wa /pɛ`2/, Khmer /pāy/, etc.	荳 dòu (SV đậu) ~ 豆 dòu (VS đậu, also 'nồi' cooking pot.) | M 豆 dòu < MC dəw < OC *doːs	*****While all the Mon-Khmer forms appear something similar to /bai/, /pai/... which can not be cognate to both the Chin. /dòu/ and VS /đậu/.
đầy	full	Old Mon /dak/, /piñ/, Modern Mon /peŋ/, Danaw /biɑk3/, Riang White /nɤk\ /, Black /nək\ /, Palaung /nUk1,3/, Wa /nɑuk3/, /nUk1/, Khmer /beñ/, Sakai /těbik/,	沓 dá (SV đạp, VS đầy) | M 沓 dá, dà, tà < MC dəp < OC *duːb	**The Chinese /dá/ form is related etymologically to the Vietnamese đầy and only the Old Mon /dak/ appears cognate if those words with the pattern ¶ /n- ~ d-/ is discounted.
đầu	head	Old Mon /kdip/, Modern Mon /kɗuɪp/, Danaw /ktɑŋ4/, Riang White /ki:ŋ-/, Black /kiŋ-/, Palaung /kɛŋ/, /kaɪŋ/, Wa /kéŋ/, Khasi /khlieh/	頭 tóu (SV đầu) | M 頭 tóu < MC dəw < OC *do: | Cf. 'trốc', 'trôốc' | Etymology: This lexeme is clearly a fundamental word. As with other core vocabulary items that tend to resist borrowing, one may ask: did Vietnamese not already possess a native term for ‘head’ prior to adopting this Chinese form? The more precise etymon for the semantic core ‘head, cranium’ is arguably 首 shǒu, which in Vietnamese surfaces as sọ ‘skull, crania.’ For 頭 tóu (SV đầu), the word has extended into a range of specialized compounds in Vietnamese. A notable example is đầunậu (M 首腦 shǒunǎo ~ M 頭腦 tóunǎo), glossed as ‘brain, head, headquarters, leader, ringleader,’ etc. This illustrates how the lexeme has been productively reanalyzed and redeployed in semantic domains beyond the literal body part. By extension, similar hypotheses can be applied to many other basic Sino‑Vietnamese words: while they appear as direct cognates of Chinese forms, their semantic layering often reflects a negotiation between native Vietnamese concepts and borrowed Sinitic lexemes. For Vietnamese 'đầu', alternative forms 'trôốc'. Etymologically from Proto-Vietic *k-loːk. Cognate with Muong tlốc. Pronunciation (Hànội) /t͡ɕəwk͡p̚˧˦/, (Huế) /ʈəwk͡p̚˦˧˥/, (Saigon): /əwk͡p̚˦˥/ (Vinh) IPA(key): /ʈoːk˩˩/ Noun (classifier cái) trốc (Nôm '捉, 祿') (dialectal Nghệan dialect dialect, Hàtĩnh dialect, Quảngbình dialect, Quảngtrị dialect, anatomy) a head. Synonyms 'đầu'. Derived terms 'trốcgối' (knee). Ex. 'ăntrênngồitrốc'. North Central Vietnam spelling of trốc is trôốc ]	*****It is so obvious that SV đầu and 頭 tóu are cognate while in Mon for both Old and modern forms they carry some initial variants of /kl-/. No Khmer is listed in Luce's list, though.
đất	earth	Viet. /đất/, Old Mon /ti/, Modern Mon /kăté1/, Riang White /kɤtéʔ-/, Black /kətéʔ-/, Palaung /kăɗɑ'i2/, /kă ɗɔ'i2/, Wa /dɛ`3/, Old Khmer /ti/, Sakai /téh/, Semang /tok/, Nicobarese /mattrai/ (land), Biat /nēh/, Srê /tiăh/, Bahnar /tɛ`h/, P'u-man /tʿui/, T'eng /pětéh/, /pětéʔ/, K'mu /até/, Khasi /pyrthei/ (world), Mundari /otē/, Kurku /watē/	地 dì (SV địa, VS đất): (1) 地 (坔, 墬) dì, de < MC djɪ < OC *l'els , (2) 土 tǔ (SV thổ), VS đất, 'soil') | M 土 tǔ (SV thổ, độ, đỗ) < MC dwo < OC *daʔ | Arccording to Li Fang-Kuei : OC *dagx. | Cf.  地 dì (SV địa)='land' | Etymology: Tibetan གཞི (gzhi, 'ground'), Burmese မ္လိယ် (ma.liy), whence Burmese မြေ (mre), Proto-Tai: *diːᴮ	****It is interesting that almost all the listed forms are cognate to each other, including both Chinese forms, including Ahom: 𑜄𑜣 (tī), Lao: ທີ່ (thī), Lü: ᦑᦲᧈ (tii¹), Northern Thai: ᨴᩦ᩵ Shan: တီႈ (tīi)
đùi	thigh	No Old Mon, mod. dī, Danaw /pluʔ1/, Riang White /pluʔ\ /, Black /kə\diɛ`l-/, Palaung /blɑu2/, /bléu2/, Wa /plɑuŋ4bɑ2/, Mundai /bulu/, Khasi /lbong/	腿 tuǐ (SV thối, VS đùi) | M 腿 (骽) tuǐ < MC tʰwəj < OC *n̥ʰuːlʔ ||  ¶ /t- ~ đ-/, cf. ¶ /n- ~ đ-/	******Like 足 zú (VS chân) and 腳 jiăo (VS giò), 腿 tuǐ (VS đùi) generally meaning 'thigh', has been elevated to designate 'leg' as well, of which the same meaning exists in Chinese. Originally 骽 (OC *n̥ʰuːlʔ).
đói	starve	Old Mon /kanlor/ (=famine), Modern Mon /klow/, Danaw /ŋat2/, Riang White and Black/ ŋuat\ /, Old Burmese /ŋat/, Malay /kěbulor/ (famine).	餒 něi (SV nỗi) | M 餒 (餧) něi, nèi < MC nwəj < OC *nuːlʔ | Sound shift: ¶ /n- ~ đ-/ || Cf. M 餓 è < MC ŋɔ < OC *ŋaːls	***While the VS form đói shows cognacy with 餒 něi (SV nỗi), the M 餓 è (SV ngạ) seems to be cognate to those of Mon-Khmer forms listed here except those of the Mon. (3)
đâm	stab, pierce	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tʿapak/, Danaw /tat3/, Riang White /tɤ-/, Black /təs-/.	捅 tǒng (SV đồng, VS đâm) | M 捅 tǒng < MC tʰəwŋ < OC *l̥ʰoːŋʔ | Sound shift: ¶ /t- ~ đ-/, ¶ /-əwŋ ~ -əwm/	******Obviously while both Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate, those forms in Luce’s limited list for this item might not be cognate aat all if they are not related to VS 'đục' 鑿 zào. (4)
đá	stone	Old Mon /tmoʾ/, Modern Mon /tmaʾ/, Riang White /sʿɤmoʔ\ /, Back /rə ʔaŋ-/, Palaung /mɑ'2/, Wa /ʃi4mɑʔ3/, Old Khmer /tmo/, Sakai /těmuh/, Malay /batu/, N Nicobarese /patu/, Stieng /tömau/, Bahnar /təmo/, P'u-man /muŋ/, etc.	石 shí (SV thạch, VS tạ /ta6/ (measure unit equal to 100 kilograms) | M 石 shí, dàn (thạch, đán) < MC dʑiajk < OC *djag | According to Starostin, Min forms pointing to *ʒ́: Xiamen cioʔ8, Chaozhou cieʔ8, Fuzhou sioʔ8, Jianou ciɔ6. | cf. Tibetan: rdo.	****the Chinese form /shí/ agrees with the VS 'đá' better than other forms in the Mon-Khmer languages if any. Most of the Sino-Tibetan forms have the vocalic contour of /da/.
đàn	herd, flock	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tʿakaʾ/, Danaw /pʿôn2/, Riang White /vwuŋ /, Black /wuŋ/, Palaung /pʿɑŋ3/, Wa /pʿUŋ2/, Khmer /hvūŋ/, Biat /pʿuŋ/, Shan /pʿuŋ/	團 tuán (SV đoàn, VS đàn ) | M 團 tuán < MC dwan < OC *do:n || Cf. M  幫 bāng < MC paŋ < OC *pa:ŋ	***Actually 團 tuán as VS 'bọn' is more plausible with other forms in the Mon-Khmer languages, but the word is for people, pointing to 幫 bāng (SV bang) 'group' , while the VS 'đàn' as 'herd, flock' is mostly for animals, which is cognate to 團 /tuán/ with its SV equivalent form of 'đoàn' to use for people in the case of 'họpđàn' (合團, hétuán, 'congregate').
đuôi	tail	Old Mon /birta/ (?), /bata/, Danaw /tɔŋ2tɑ/, Riang White /taʔ-/, Black /sʿən\taʔ-/, /săɗɑ2/, Wa /ʃi4taʔ1/, T'eng /hěnta/	尾 wěi (SV vĩ, VS đuôi) | M 尾 wěi, yǐ < MC muj < OC *mɯlʔ | ¶ /-uj ~ -woj/ \ /d-+/	***The sound change pattern /-uj ~ -woj/ preceded by /đ-/ is plausibly could give rise to 'đuôi'. Cf. 'đánh' vs. /quánh/, /quýnh/, etc. In other cited languages by Luce, the closest forms are those initials of the second morph that starts with /t-/ on the condition that /t-/ ~> /d-/.
ói	vomit	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tʿa-aʾ/, Danaw /ɔ:ʔ2/, Riang White and Black /hɔl-/, Palaung /hɤ2/, /hak1/, Wa /hɑ’2/, Nicobarese /oàu/, Srê /haʔ/.	嘔 ǒu (SV ẩu, VS ói, ợ, 'babble' , ộc  'throw up' | M 嘔 ōu, ǒu, xū, yù, òu < MC ʔɤw < OC *ʔo:, *ʔo:ʔ | According to Starostin, 嘔 ǒu 'babble' (as a child) (LZ), also used for *ʔo:ʔ, MC ʔow, Pek. ǒu 'vomit'.	*****While VS ói /ɔj5/ is cognate to the C /ǒu/, some of the other Mon-Khmer forms seem to point to VS khạc /k'ak8/ (spit) 咳 ké (VS 'ho' for 'cough') along with VS nhổ (spit) that is from C 吐 tù and SV thổ, the word for 'vomit'.
ác	crow	Viet. /ác/, Old Mon /kil-ak/, /kil-ek/, Modern Mon /kɑɗɑk/, Danaw /lɔŋ4ɑʔ2/, Riang White /luʔ\ʔɑk-/, Balck /luk\ɑk-/, Palaung /kă\ʔɑʔ1/, Wa /lak3/, Old Khmer /kāk/, Sakai /aag/, /gaag/, Semang /ukag/, Malay /gagak/, Srê /kənɗɑ/, Bahnar /āk/, T'eng /kăʔak/, K'mu /klāk/	烏 wū, wù, yā, yān (SV ô, ác, VS quạ, ác | M 烏 wū, wù, yā, yān < MC ʔo < OC *qa | Starostin: Later also attested in the sense ('black as a crow' > ) 'black, very dark'.	****All forms are cognates with an extra variant for the VS form quạ.)
á	dumb, speech-impaired	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /klau/, /lhau/, Danaw /ă4ʔa1/, Riang White /ɑʔ-/, Black /aʔ-/, Palaung /ré:u2/, /rɑ`ì/, Wa /n dɑuʔ3/, Old Burmese /a/, Srê /kloat/	啞 è, yǎ, yā (SV ách, á, nha), also, VS 'dở' | M 啞 è, yă, yā < MC ʔaɨj, ʔaɨjk < OC *qraːʔ, *qraːg, *qraːg, *qraːgs  | According to Starostin, also read (irregularly) MC ʔạik (FQ 於革) id.; during Late Zhou used for *ʔrāʔ, MC ʔạ́ (FQ 烏下), Pek. yǎ, Go e, Kan a 'mute' and *ʔrā(k)-s (MC ʔạ̀, FQ 衣嫁, Pek. yà) 'sigh (interjection)'	****The SV á form, on the one hand, is in line with some of the Mon-Khmer languages and certainly cognate to the 啞 yă which could not be excluded from the pool of etymologies just simply because the Vietnamese form closely matches those of the Austroasiatic languages. Cf.  VS câm 喑 (yīn, SV âm, 'dumb'), or câm 噤 (jìn, SV cấm, 'mute'.)
Ấnđộ	Indian	Old Mon /gulā/, Modern Mon /galā/, Riang White /kɤrɑ-/, Black /kərɑ-/, Palaung /kălɑ2/, Wa /kălɑ2/ Old Burmese /kulā/, Sanskrit/Pali kulaputta	印度 Yìndù (SV Ấnđộ). In MC the word for it is 天竺 Tiānzhú (SV Thiêntrúc). This Tang-dynasty transcription reflected a source form of /ʔindu/ or /ʔindak/, although the source language is unclear.	*****The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate to 'India' but have nothing to do with the others at all.
xương	bone	Viet. /xương/, Old Mon /jūc(ʔ)/, Modern Mon /jut/, Danaw /kănaŋ4/, Riang White /yɤn\ʔaŋ-/, Back /tsən\ɑŋ-/, Palaung /kă\ʔɑŋ2/, Wa /să\ʔɑŋ2/, Kmer /cʿa-iŋ/, Sakai /ja-akn/, Semang /jaʔis/, Nicobarese /oŋ-eŋ/, Biat /n'tiŋ/, Srê /n'tīŋ/, T'eng /cʿəʔaŋ/, Khasi /Shyeng/, Mundari /jaŋ/, Malay /tulaŋ/	腔 qiāng (SV khang, xoang) | M 腔 qiāng, kòng (xoang, khang) < MC kʰaɨwŋ < OC *kʰroːŋ | Ex. 腔骨 qiānggǔ (VS xươngcốt) 'bone', 盆腔 pénqiāng (VS xươngchậu) 'the pelvic cavity' | Etymology: The Sino‑Tibetan etymology of 腔 qiāng traces back to Proto‑Sino‑Tibetan khyam / khyang 'chest, cavity', with cognates in Tibetan, Burmese, and Loloish, and a Chinese semantic extension to 'voice, accent'. Note:《集韻》骨 體 曰 腔 (VS xương).	***Except for the speculative Chinese etymon 腔 qiāng, all forms above appear to be cognate. Meanwhile, 腔 as VS xương it is aligning with the historical gloss; 腔 was once understood as the 'bony cavity', which makes it a plausible cognate or at least a semantic parallel to xương.
xơi	eat (rice)	Old Mon /ca(hāp)/, /ca/, Danaw /sué4/, Riang White and Black /sʿuam-/, Palaung /hɑm2/, /hɔm2/, Wa /sɔm2/, Old Khmer /cya/, Sakai /cha/, Semang /chiʾ/, Nicobarese /shâ/, Briat /chat/, Stieng, Srê, Bahnar /sa/, Khasi /bsa/ (to tend), Nicobarese /hâm/, Lemet /som/, Khasi /bam/, Mundari /jom/, Savara /jum/, Gadaba /sōm/, Kurku /jōm/.	食 shí (SV thực, VS xơi) | M 食 shí, sì, yì (thực, tự) < MC ʑik < OC *ɦljɯɡ, *lɯɡs | Cf. M 吃 chī (SV ngật) < MC kjit < OC *kɯd	****Both Chinese forms 吃 chī and 食 shí are clearly cognate with the Vietnamese xơi. At the same time, many of the reflexes listed by Luce for this item display parallel sound‑change patterns that likewise point back to a common root. The puzzle, then, is how such a basic verb as ‘eat’ could have entered one language as a loan from another.
xuồng	boat	Old Mon /dluŋ/, Modern Mon /gluŋ/, Danaw /tɔŋ2lui4/, Riang White /tjɤn\luaŋ\ /, Black /tsən\luaŋ\ /, Palaung /rɤ2/, Wa /rɤ2/,Srê, M'nong Gar /plǔŋ/, T'eng /cəlɔŋ/, Khasi /lieng/	船 chuán (SV thuyền) | M 船 (舩) chuán < MC ʑwian < OC *ɦljon | Cf. For VS 'xuồng' as M 艟 chōng, tóng, zhuàng (xung, sung, đồng) < MC ɖaɨwŋ < OC *tʰjoŋ, *rdoːŋs | According to Starostin: 艟 chōng, a k. of boat (Jin), was attested only within the die-sheng 朦艟 *mo:ŋ-thoŋ, thus the borrowed nature of Viet. xuồng is dubious. Hence, 船 (舩) chuán could be plausibly cognate even though modern 船 chuán means 'ship' in general, being more like a 'big ship'.	****Except for the /rɤ2/ form, it is interesting to see that the Vietnamese form 'xuồng' corresponds to the /-l-/ forms, via ¶ /l- ~ s-/ sound changes, in other Mon-Khmer language which are plausibly cognate to 船 /chuán/ or 艟 /chōng/ while SV /sung/ 'small canoe'.
xuyêncốc	Job's tears ('Coix lacryma-jobi')	No Mon forms, Danaw /(plé1)bé2/, Riang White /sʿɤtuʔ-/, Black /sʿətuʔ-/,	川穀 chuāngǔ	***The  Danaw /(plé1)bé2/ form appear to be cognate to V /bobo/ while Riang White /sʿɤtuʔ-/, Black /sʿətuʔ-/ 'xuyêncốc' which is from Chin. 川穀 chuāngǔ.
xa	far	Old Mon /jirŋey/, Modern Mon /sŋai/, Danaw /sʿɔŋ4ŋɑi4/, Riang White /sʿɤŋɑi\ /, /yɑn\ /, Palaung /sāŋɑ'i2/, /sāŋɔi2/, Wa /ʃi4ŋɑi2/, Khmer /cʿŋāy/, Sakai /nyaʾ/, Semang /měnjiʾ/, Nicobarese /ho-i/, Srê, Biat, Stieng /ŋai/, Bahnar /jəŋəi/, /ʃəŋai/, P'uman /ŋai/, T'eng /yaʔ/, /gyaʔ/, Lemet /sŋay/, Khasi /jngai/, War / ʃŋūi/, Mundari /sāŋīn/, Savara /saŋayi/, Gadaba /sāŋayi/, Kurku /sāŋgin/	遐 xiá (SV hà, VS xa ) | M 遐 xiá < MC ɦaɨ < OC *gra: | Cf. 賒 shē (VS xa, 'far') | Note: From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *gra ('long (period of time)'). Cognate with Burmese ကြာ (kra, 'be a long time (since)').	****The Vietnamese form 'xa' /sa1/ looks like cognate with those Mon-Khmer vocables that start with the phoneme /S-/ but their finals can only be related to something like V /xaxôi/ 'faraway'. The Chinese form /xiá/ appears to be cognate to the VS 'xa'.
vợ	wife (Luce: 'woman, female', 'vợ')	Old Mon /brow/, Modern Mon /brau/, Danaw /kămyaʔ3/, Riang White /réŋ\ /, Black /rɪŋ\ /, Palaung /kăloŋ2/, Wa /méŋ/, Kasi /briew/, /briw/ (=homo)	婦 fù (SV phụ) | M 婦 (媍) fù < MC buw < OC *bɯʔ | For Luce's 'vợ', 婦 fù (SV phụ) is also cognate to 'bụa' as in 寡婦 guăfù (SV quảphụ, VS goábụa 'widow'). 婦 fù can be interpreted as 'woman', 'female'. Ex.  '婦女 fùnǚ (SV phụnữ), 婦道 fùdào (VS đànbà).	******Alongside vợ, the Chinese form 婦 fù is also cognate with Vietnamese bụa. In several related languages, an initial cluster br‑ corresponds both to bụa and to bà, while reflexes in ‑eng and ‑ong appear to connect with Vietnamese nàng and Chinese 娘 niáng (SV nương) ‘girl, woman’. A Khmer cognate, however, is lacking for this item. In addition to vợ, another Chinese form shows a clear correspondence with Vietnamese: 妻 qī (SV thê). Here the alternation /q‑ ~ v‑/ reflects the fact that Vietnamese /v‑/, a labiodental onset, is a relatively late development. In southern dialects, vợ is realized as /jəː⁶/. The likely historical pathway, therefore, runs from buạ /ɓwəːʔ⁶/ → dợ /jəː⁶/ or /jəː˨˨/ (in spoken registers) → vợ /və̰ːʔ⁶/.
về	return, go home	Viet. /trở/, Old Mon /cow/, Modern Mon /cau/Danaw /yən2/, Riang White and Black /vwiŋ\ /, Palaung /vwi2 /, Wa /i:ŋ2/, Wa /vwɔk3/, T’eng /věk/, /rəvěk/.	歸 guī (SV qui) | M 歸 guī, kuì < MC kʷɨi < OC *klul  | Cf.  M 回 huí (SV hồi) huí < MC ɦwəj, ɠoj < OC *wjə:j, *ɡuːl	***It appears that Vietnamese trở cannot function independently with the meaning ‘return’; it only occurs in compounds such as trởvề 'return'. For this reason, as Luce (or his informant) indicated, trở is not the appropriate etymon to mean 'go home'. By contrast, Vietnamese về is plausibly cognate with Chinese 回 (huí, SV hồi) and its doublet 歸 (guī, SV quy). What remains intriguing, however, is that—apart from the Mon reflexes—the Vietnamese form aligns in various ways with other Mon‑Khmer comparanda, though often in different guises.
vượn	monkey	Old Mon /knuy/. mod. /knuai/, Danaw /vwɔ2/, Riang White /vwaʔ-/, Black /wɑʔ-/, Palaung /fɑ2/, Wa /rɑu2/, Old Khmer /svā/, T'eng /hwa/, Srê /kuañ/ (gibbon	猿 yuán (SV viên, VS vượn), VS vượn 'gibbon' | M 猿 yuán < MC ɦʷiɐn < OC *ɢʷan | Note that the sound shift for 申 shēn ~ '猿 yuán (SV viện, VS  vượn) that matches the pattern 伸 shēn (SV thân, 'stretch') ~ 援 yuán (SV viện, VS vươn 'reach out'), all means 'monkey'. (See An Chi. 2016. Vol. 1, pp. 177-183)	******Vietnamese 'vượn' (猿 yuán, 'gibbon') and all other are cognates while Old Mon /knuy/, and modern Mon /knuai/ look like to equate khỉ ('monkey') in Vietnamese. According to An Chi, (Ibid. 2016), M 猴 hóu < MC ɦəw < OC *go: \ @ 'khỉ' 猴 hóu (SV hầu) <~ 猢 hú (SV hồ), 猻 sūn (SV tôn, cf. 'thân') <~ 猻猢 sūnhú (SV tônhồ).
vú	breast	Viet. /bú/, Old Mon tohl(pubow = to suckle), Modern Mon /tah/, Danaw /bu/, Riang White /nin\ /, Black /buʔ-/, Palaung /bu2/ /nUm2/, Wa /təh5/, Old Khmer /toh/ (breast), /pau/ (to suck), Besisi /tuh/,Semang /tuk/, Malay /dada/, Nicobarese /toah/, Bahnar /tōh/, Mundari /toa/, Sakai /bot/, Semang /bu/, Shom Peng /bōo-tōa/, Bìat /m'pu/, T'eng /buʔ/, Khasi /buiñ/ (tu suck), /jymbuiñ/, Mundari /jembedʔ/	乳 rǔ (SV nhũ) for 'breast' and 哺 bǔ (SV bộ) for 'to suck'. | M 乳 rǔ < MC njoʔ < OC njoʔ || M 哺 bǔ < MC bo < OC *ba:s | Ex. 'búvú' 哺乳 bǔrǔ (SV bộnhũ) 'to suckle'	****There is no doubt that the Chinese forms are cognate to both of the Viet. /vú/ and /bú/, respectively. For other forms there must be some kind of coincidence similar to /pa/ and /ma/ where p- and m-, hence, b- and v-, forms seem to converge children's early vocables.
vía	spirit (intox)	No Mon forms, Danaw /kădo4/, Riang White /kɤdɑu-/, Black /kədɑu-/, Wa /plɑi2/	魄 pó (SV phách, VS vía) | M 魄 pò, tuò, bó (phách, thác, bạc) < MC tʰak, pʰaɨjk < OC *tʰaːɡ, pʰraːɡ | ¶ /p- ~ v-/	******No similar forms in Vietnamese seem to point to the limited list given by Luce for this item while the Chinese forms are numerous and vary greatly depending on what we are referring to. In any cases, in Vietnamese we have an interesting 'vía' which is cognate to the Chin. 魄 pó (SV phách).
vuốt	to stroke	Viet. /vuốt/, Old Mon /aumpot/, /samput/, Modern Mon /spot/, Danaw /pʿyé4/, Riang White /puas-/, Balck /pruas-/, Palaung /puh3puh3/, Wa /mUh5/, Khmer /cpūt/, Malay /sapu/, Stieng /puōt/, /rəpuōt/, Srê /rəpoc/, Biat /rʾpōt/, Bahnar /pōt/, T’eng /puòt/ (to touch), Khasi /syrpud/.	撫 fǔ (SV phủ, VS vuốt) | M 撫 fǔ < MC pʰuə̆ < OC *m̥ʰaʔ  | According to Starostin, 撫 fǔ accommodate oneself to, follow; manage, handle. The original meaning 'lay the hand on' (whence 'manage, accommodate') is attested somewhat later, during LZ	****All forms seem to be cognate.
voi	elephant	Viet. /tượng/, Chinese /*dzaiaŋ/, Old Mon /cīŋ/, Modern Mon /ciŋ/, Danaw /kătsɑŋ4/, Riang White /sʿɑŋ-/, Black /sʿi-tsɑŋ-/, Palaung /sɑ:ŋ2/, Wa /sɑŋ2/, Sakai /chik/, T'eng /sǐkyaŋ/, K'mu /chaŋ/, Old Burrmese /cʿaŋ/	象 xiàng (SV tượng) | M 象 (𧰼) xiàng < MC zɨaŋ < OC *ljaŋʔ | Cf. M 為 wéi (SV vi, VS voi, 'elephant') | M 為 wéi, wèi (vi, vị) < MC ɦʷɯiɛ, ɦjwiə̆ < OC *ɢʷal, *ɢʷals | According to Starostin, an *-s-derivate from the word is OC *waj-s, MC we (FQ 于偽), Pek. wèi 'for, on behalf', Viet. vì, vị. For initial *w- cf. Min forms, MC we, Xiamen, Chaozhou, Fuzhou ui2; also, Xiamen ui6, Fuzhou oi6, Jianou ue6. Shuowen defines the character as 'female monkey'. Although this word is not attested in literature, it may be compared to PST *qwaj reflected in Kach. (D) woi monkey; Moshang vi-sil; Rawang əwe; Trung a-koi; Kadu kwe id. (STC No 314 *(b)woy; dubious are Mikir ki-pi and Miri si-be). Meanwhile, Thomas: V 'voi'.	***With Viet. /tượng/ all forms appear to be cognate to Chin. /zɨaŋ/, but only VS 'voi' seems only cognate to Chin. 為 (wéi, SV vi) that is posited by Thomas (1969) and that is much more original than 'tượng'.
vay	borrow (articles)	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /gleʾ/, Danaw /wɑi2/, Rieng White /yɯm-/, Black /vwɑi\ /, Palaung /kăvwɑi’2/, /kăvw ɔi’2/, Wa /vwɑi2/.	Chin. 借 jiè (SV tá, VS vay) | M QT 借 jiè, jī < MC tsia, tsiajk < OC *sjaːɡ, *ʔsjaːɡs	***Except for the modern Mon form, all other Mon-Khmer forms appear to be cognate to the V 'vay', which usually means ‘to borrow money’. In the meanwhile, in Vietnamese there is another word 'mượn', possibly derived from the Chin. 賃 rèn (SV nhậm), to use in both cases of either 'to borrow articles' or 'to borrow money'.
vai	shoulder	mon Mid. /pnah/, /pnah/, Danaw /tsɔk3pɑ1/, /tjak-paʔ-/, Black /tsak-paʔ-/, Palaung /yɑʔ1/, Wa /(pyaŋ4)klɪ:p1/, T'eng /tla/	膊 bó (SV bạc, VS vai) | M 膊 bó, bo, pēi, pò, chún, fū, liè < MC pʰwak < OC *pʰaːɡ	***In Chinese there is the form 臂膊 bèibó (upper arm) which can be associated and posited as 'bảvai' (shoulder).
tắm	bathe	Viet. /tắm/, Old Mon /p-hūm/, Modern Mon /hum/, Danaw /θɔn4(u:n4)/, Riang White and Black /hu:n-(om-)/, Palaung /dɑ 2(ôm2)/, /həm2(rɔm2)/, Besisi /hum/, Srê, Stieng /um/, Bahnar /hum/, /pəhum/, T’eng /mum/, Khasi /sum/.	洗 xǐ (SV tẩy) | M 洗 xǐ, Xiăn (tẩy, Tiển) < MC sen < OC *sɯːlʔ, *sɯːnʔ | According to Starostin, Chin. 浸 jìn is probable source (M jìn, qīn < MC tsʰim, tsiəm < OC *shim, *tsiəm, *ʔsims) to overflow, soak, wet.	***All forms appear to be cognate to each other following the sound change pattern ¶ /h- ~ t-/.
tẩm	soak	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /bap/, Danaw /tən4/, Riang White and Black /tam-/, Khasi /pdem/	浸 jìn (SV tẩm) | M 浸 jìn, qīn < MC tsʰim, tsiəm < OC *shim, *tsiəm, *ʔsims | According to Starostin: to overflow, soak, wet. In Mand. also read ji:n (pointing to a variant MC *cjim, OC *cim). The normal Sino-Viet. reading is tẩm; cf. also tắm 'to bathe, have a bath' (probably a colloquial loan from the same source).	****Obviously the Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate to other Mon-Khmer forms in this limited list by Luce except for the Modern Mon /bap/.
túi	shoulder-bag	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tʿuŋ/, Danaw /tăchi4/, Riang White /sʿɤki-/, Black /sʿəki-/	袋 dài (SV đại, VS túi) | M 袋 (帒) dài < MC dəj < OC *l'ɯːɡs	*****Another Chinese doublet 兜 dǒu ('pocket') could be accounted for the VS /túi/. However, the limited list Luce cited for this item makes it hard to relate to a specific Vietnamese etymon.
tóc	hair	Viet. /tóc/, Old Mon /sok/, Modern Mon /sok/, Danaw /ñok1/, Riang White /huk-/ Black /huk-/, Palaung /huʔ1/, Wa /hɑɯk1/, Old Khmer /suk/, Sakai /sok/, /suk/, Semang /sog/, Nicobarese /yôk/, Biat /chōk/, Srê /soʔ/, Bahnar /sɔk/, Pʿu-man /su-chʿi/, Khasi /shñih/, War /su'kha'/, Mundari /uʔ/, Savara /ū/	髮 fà (SV phát, VS tóc) | M  髮 fà, fă (phát, bị) < MC puat < OC *pod | ¶ /p- ~ t-/	**While others are clear cognates, including that of Vietnamese form, the Chinese modern and ancient forms also appear to fit into the sound change pattern that if there were no other forms for comparison, they would have certainly become a good candidate.
tên	name	Old Mon /yamo/, /imoʾ/, Modern Mon /imu/, Danaw /maʔ2/, Riang White and Black /mus\ /, Palaung /jɯ3/, Wa /tjɯ3/, Old Khmer /jmah/, /jimoh/, Srê /təməh/, T'eng /səŋmɤ/	姓 xìng (SV tính, VS tên) | M 姓 xìng (tánh, tính) < MC siajŋ < OC *sleŋs | Ex. 那 姓 習 的 是 個 流氓. Nà xìng Xí de shì gè líumáng. (Cái tên Tập đó là kẻ lưumanh.) 'The guy named Xi there is a bum.'	****All listed forms and some others do not seem to be cognate to VS tên except that in Chinese it means 'given name' while 'họ' (surname) was likely from 氏 shì (SV thị /thɛj6/, VS họ /ho6/), etymologically, cf. 氏族 shìzú (SV thitộc, VS dònghọ, 'clan') and, phonologically, cf. 二 èr (SV nhị /nhej6/, VS hai /haj1/, 'two').
tê	numb, pins and needles	No Mon forms, Danaw /kăñi:n4/, Riang White /kɤm\ri:m\ /, Black /kəm\ri:m\ /, Mundari /ruiam/	痺 bì (SV tì, VS tê) | M 痺 (痹, 疪) bì < MC piə̆ < OC *pe | ¶ /b- ~ t-/. Ex. 麻痺 mábì (VS têmê)	****Except for those of the Vietnamese and Chinese, other forms listed by Luce are limited and show no cognates.
tám	eight	Viet. /tám/, Old Mon /dincām/, Modern Mon /dacām/, Danaw /tsɑn/, Riang White /pər\tɑʔ-/, Black /pər\tɑʔ-/, Palaung /ta/, Wa /n\dɑiʔ3/, Bahnar /təhŋam/, Srê /p'am/, Lemet /ta/, Khatia /t'am/, Savara /tamji/	八 bā (SV bát) || M 八 bā < MC pɯæt < OC *pre:d | Etymology: For '8', per Shafer, Sino-Tibetan: O Bur. *t-r1iat, Luśei rat, M Bur. hratś, Tarao ti-rit6, Langang tǐ-ret, Amal tă-rik, Tlongsai tśa-ru (=6?), S. and N. Khaimi tă-ya, Hlota ti-za, Tśungli ti10 || A W. Bod. Sbalti bgyad, Burig ŕgyad, -pgyad, -bgyad (p. 78), W. Himal. lang. Kukish t-rkyat?, Almora dźyad (p. 136), Norther Branch *tə-ryat, Matupi -Xŗēt (p. 251), OK Kukish *t-r1iat, Meithlei tă-rēt (p. 284) | Baric Garo, Abeng, Wanang tśet, Atong tśat- Ruga -tśet, Tipora tśsa, Bodo źat, Mets dźat, Dimosa, Hojai dźa, Mośang tă-tśat, Sangge ta-tśat, Mulung tʿutʿ, Angwanku tat, Tśang sat (pp. 437, 438)	**八 bā is another speculative case for Vietnamese while the Khmer form is based on model 5+3. For the pattern ¶ /b- ~ t-/: 匹 pǐ ~ 'thất', 必 bì ~ 'tất', 畢 bí ~ 'tốt', 俾 bèi ~ 'tỳ', 卑鄙 bèibī ~ 'tồitệ', 派 pài ~ 'sai'.
trứng	egg	Old Mon /tumʾāy/ (?), Modern Mon /kʿamhāai/, Banaw /kătn4/, /kătUn4/, Riang White and Black /tam-/, Wa /tɔm2/, Sakai /tap/, Shom Peng /kâtēab/, Bahnar /kətap/, Lemet /ntam/, T'eng /kədóŋ/	蛋 dàn (SV đản, VS trứng) | M 蛋 dàn < MC dan < OC *l'aːns | Note: This character was coined at a late stage in Chinese, since it is unattested on oracle bones, bronzes, Shuowen Jiezi and Guangyun. An Chi (Ibid.) suggested 種 (zhǒng, SV chủng, VS trứng) < MC tɕiowŋ < OC *tjoŋʔ, *tjoŋʔs	****Except for words started with /-/ all other Mon-Khmer forms, it is likely that the VS 'trứng' is cognate to the Chin. /dàn/.
trợt	slippery	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /talit/, Danaw /khit3/, Riang White /li:ɪ-/, Balck /lɪɛ`-/	疐 zhì, dì (SV chí, đế, VS trợt, té) | M 疐 (躓) zhì < MC ʈi < OC *tiɡs, *tiːɡs	**** Vietnamese and Chinese forms are clearly cognate.
trời, ngày	sun, day	Viet. /ngày/, Old Mon /tŋey/, Modern Mon /tŋai/, Danaw /tsʿɪ1/, Riang White /sʿɤŋyiʔ\ /, /sʿəniʔ-/, Palaung /săŋɑ'i2/, /săŋéi2/, Wa /ʃɪ4ŋɑiʔ3/, Old Khmer /tŋaɪ/, Sakai /těŋŋɪ/, Malay /hari/, Nicobarese /heŋ/, Shom Peng /hok-ŋīa/, Srê /ŋái/, /təŋăi/, P'man /nyi/, T'eng /səŋi/, K'mu /simyi/, Khasi /sngi/, War /juŋai/, Mudari /siŋgi/, /siŋ/, Gadaba /sĩi/	日 rì (SV nhật, VS ngày 'day', giời, trời 'sun' | M 日 rì, mì < MC ȵit < OC *njiɡ | According to Starostin: MC ɲit < OC *nit, Min forms: Xiamen tɕit8, lit8, Chaozhou zik8, Fuzhou nik8, Jianou ni8. | @ 日 rì ~ ngày / giời > trời and M /rì/ have their corresponding initials /gi-/ and /r-/ as well as /y-/, close to /nh-/, /j-/, /jh-/ and /ng-/ in SV nhật, Cant. /jat/ and /jit/. | Wiktionary: From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ku-ni(k). Cognate to Tibetan ཉི་མ (nyi ma, “sun, day”), Burmese နေ (ne, “sun”) or Burmese နေ့ (ne., “day”), S'gaw Karen နံၤ (nĩ, “day”), and Nuosu ꑍ (nyip, “day, daytime”).(See etymology of 'trời' posited for 天 tiān, SV thiên)	****All Mon-Khmer forms are cognate to Vietnamese variants, but the intrigue thing is the Chinese form does not appear much different from others.
trời	sky	No Mon forms, Danaw /tăʔɑ:ŋ4/, Riang White and Blak /pléŋ-/, Palung /pléŋ2/, Wa /pak4pyaŋ2/ (above), Old Khmer /phliəŋ/ (=rain), Bahnar /pleñ/, Lemet /mpliñ/, T'eng /ləʿwaŋ/, K'mu /hravaŋ/, Kasi /bneng/	天 tiān (SV thiên) | M 天 tiān < MC tʰɛn < OC *qʰl'iːn | FQ 他前 | Note: 前 Hainanese /tai2/; for VS 'trời', old Vietmuong /blời/. | Etymology: Proto-Viet-Muong: *lǝ:j, bǝ- 'sky, rain', Thomon: mat.35 ṭǝ:j.43 'sun', Phong: mat.44 plǝ:j.21 'sun', Arem: tlǝ:j, Ruc: plǝ:j.2 'sky', mǝʌt.4 plǝi.2 'sun', Thavung-So: balɨj.3, Thavung: maloj.C, Tum: mat.33 plǝ:j.33 'sun' (Notes: Liha, Cuoi mat.31 plǝ:j.43 'sun'; M. Khoi tlǝj.1, ma:t.5 tlǝj.1 'sun', References: F-97: *b-lǝ:j > *blǝ:j, *tlǝ:j) Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *rǝj 'sky, nature, world, wild', Thai: brai.A 'forest', Proto-Katuic: BRU traj.B V?, Proto-Bahnaric: *ri, Khmer: bre:j < OK wraj, Proto-Pearic: *ri.N, Proto-Vietic: *lǝ:j, bǝ-, Proto-Monic: *rǝj, Proto-Palaungic: *raiʔ, Proto-Khmu: *riʔ (References: Kh 801; S-276)	**While the Mon-Khmer /pl-/ initial suggests something like /tr-/, both Vietnamese and Chinese forms could also be cognate which differentiates from 日 rì. cf. 日 rì ~ VS 'giời' (sun), and 'ngày' (day).
trộm	burglarize	Old Mon /kumlec/, /kamlec/ (=thief), Modern Mon /klat/, Danaw /rat2/, Riang White and Black /raʔ\ /, Palaung /brɑ2/, Wa /brɛʔ3/, T’eng /luic/, /luêc/, Mundari /reʔ/.	盜 dào (SV đạo, VS trộm) | M  盜 dào < MC daw < OC *daːws	***The VS 'trộm' agrees with the C /taw4/, that is, they are plausibly cognate while both do not seem to have anything to do with other Mon-Khmer forms.
trồng	to plant (tree)	Old Mon /tal/, /til/, Modern Mon /tuiw/, Danaw tɑi4/, /tan2/, Riang White /pɤsʿɤm-/, Black /pək\sʿəm-/, Palaung /sam2/, Wa /tɑiñ2/, Shan /pʿukswam/.	種 zhòng (SV chủng, VS trồng, giống) | M 種 zhǒng, zhòng, chóng < MC tɕiowŋ < OC *tjoŋʔ, *tjoŋs  | According to Starostin, 種 zhǒng, 'seeds'; 'cereals'. Also read *toŋʔ-s, MC couŋ (FQ 之用), Mand. 種 zhòng 'to sow'. The word also means 'kind, sort, race' (> 'seed'), which is reflected in a colloquial Viet. loanword (from another dialectal source) giống 'kind, sort; race, breed, strain'. (See 'trứng')	****Both the Vietnamese and Chinese forms are clearly cognate, not only in the meaning of 'to plant' but also 'seed, race, kind..' along with other meaning that the Chin. 種 'zhòng' and 'zhǒng' convey, e.g., 種類 (zhǒnglèi, VS giốngnòi, 'race'), 種族 (zhǒngzú, VS dòngdõi, 'clan'). It is also interesting to see that all other Mon-Khmer forms are also cognate, which substantiate the hypothesis of loanwords cross linguistic families.
trọc	bald	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kʿɑlat/, Danaw /klak3,1/, Riang White /klak-/, Black klɑk-/	禿 tū (SV thốc, VS trọc' lóc) | M 禿 (秃) tū < MC tʰəwk < OC *tʰoːɡ	**** VS 'trọc' and Chin 禿 tū are clearly cognate, but it is interesting to see the the other Mon-Khmer forms that show the pattern /kl-/ which usually appears in Vietnamese as /tr-/. It is plausibly to posit 'lóc' as in reduplicative word 'trọclóc' in Vietnamese.
trầu	betel, betel-leaf	Viet. /trầu/, Mid Mon /sablu/, Modern Mon /jablu/, Danaw /(lɑ1)ku:n2/, Riang White and Black /plu\ /, Palaung /plu2/, Wa /pu2/, Old Khmer /amlo/, Sakai /bluk/, Biat /mʾlu/, Bahnar /bəlâu/, T'eng /blu/, Khasi /tympew/, Old Burmese /sammlhū/ (betel), kwam /areca/	柄榔 bīngláng (SV bínhlang, VS trầu). cf. old VietMuong /blau/. Wiktionary: Inherited from Proto-Vietic *b-luː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ml(əw) (“betel”). Cognate with Bahnar bơlŏu, Mon ဇဗၠူ (həplùˀ) and Khmer ម្លូ (mluu). Attested as Northern Middle Vietnamese blầu in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651).	****The Chin. 柄榔 bīngláng and VS 'trầu', meaning both betel and betel-leaf (doublet of 蔞 lóu, SV lâu,  VS trầu, 'betel vine'), is cognate to all Mon-Khmer forms, there is no doubt that it is a loanword in Chinese. The formal name (tênchữ) of Phùlưu Village (扶留 (MC bjuljuw)) in Bắcninh, whose demotic name (tên Nôm) is Giầu, attests to the existence of proto-form /*blu ~ *bliu/ in Northern Old Vietnamese.
trăng	moon	Old Mon /kintu/, /garu/, /kăto1/, Riang White and Black /kiɛ`-/, Palaung /păkiɔr2/, Wa /kʿiʔ1/, Old Khmer /khe/, Nicobarese /kâhē/, Bahnar /kʿey/, Lemet /kʿé/, Mundari /ku:r/ (month), Gadaba /arkē/	月 yuè (SV nguyệt, VS giăng > trăng ~> tháng, 'month') | M 月 yuè < MC ŋʷiɐt < OC *ŋod | Etymologically, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋʷ(j)a-t (“moon; star”), whence also Magar [Term?] (gya hot, “moon”), Proto-Lolo-Burmese *mwatᴸ (“star; moon”) (whence Lahu məʔ-kə (“star”)), Drung gurmet (“star”) (Matisoff, 1980; LaPolla, 1987; STEDT).according to Starostin: Proto-Austroasiatic: *ra:ŋ, Proto-Katuic: KUI mphriaŋ.B, Proto-Vietic: *ra:ŋ, kǝ-, Proto-Viet-Muong: *ra:ŋ, kǝ-, Thomon: ṭaŋ.43, Arem: mầt karæ:ŋ 'sun', Thavung-So: mat khalaŋ, Thavung: mat.B khaʔlaŋ.C 'sun', M.Khoi mat.5 tlaŋ.2	***While the V 'ngày' and 'giời' appear to be cognate to other forms in the Mon-Khmer languages, the V 'giăng, trăng, tháng' completely diverge from Luce's list in the languages with the interchange /j-/ ~ /k-/, cf. 聽 tìng (SV thính) ~ VS 'nghe' (hear) ~ Hai. /ke1/. At the same time, the Chin. 月 yuè, that fits to the same pattern as that of 日 rì for V 'ngày' and 'giời', seems to fill in the symmetric word /yuè/ for V 'giăng' ~ 'trăng' ~ 'tháng' (month).
trăm	hundred	Viet. /trăm/, Old and Modern Mon /klam/, Riang White /pər-yɑ\ /, Black /pər-yɑ\ /, Palaung /păyɑh/, Khasi /spah/, Old Burmese /ryā/	百 bǎi (SV bách, VS trăm) | M 百 (𦣻) bǎi, bó, mò (bách, bá) < MC paɨjk < OC *praːɡ | According to Starostin: Protoform: *rja: (p-) Chinese: *pra:k hundred. Tibetan: brgja hundred. Burmese: ra hundred, LB *rja. Kachin: l@ca1 hundred. Lushei: za hundred, KC *p-rkya\ (?). Comments: Gurung bhra, Thakali bhra; BG: Dimasa ra>dz/a, Garo ritts/a; Kanauri ra; Thebor gya; Rgyarung pa>rye; Rawang ya, Trung c^a1. Simon 14; Sh. 42, 136, 123; Ben. 45; Mat. 171. | ¶ /b- ~ tr- (bl- ~ tr-/), /p- ~ tr/-, OC */pr- ~ tr- /, cf. blời ~ 'trời', plau ~ 'trầu'	*The Chinese ~ Vietnamese cognateness is subject to speculative interpretation of the interchange /pr- ~ tr-/, OC *praːɡ > VS 'trăm'
trúc	bamboo	Viet. /trúc/, Old Mon /dūñ/, Modern Mon /dun/, Danaw /kărɔʔ2/, Riang White /rɤŋ-/, Black /rəŋ-/, Palaung /hraŋ2/, Wa /oʔ1/, Besisi /dɪkŋ/, Nicobarese /hedw/, Srê, Bahnar /diŋ/ (bamboo pipe), K'mu /rahaŋ/	竹 zhú (SV trúc, VS tre 'bamboo') | M 竹 zhú < MC ʈuwk < OC *tuɡ	****The two forms in both Chin. /zhú/ and V /trúc/ are clearly cognates, including V /tre/, yet it is interesting to see how diverse are the sound changes that occur in other languages for this item.
trâu	water buffalo	Old and Modern Mon /preŋ/, Danaw /mănaʔ3/, Riang White /pɤnɑʔ\ /, Black /pənɑʔ\ /, Palaung /krɑʔ1/, Wa /krak1/, T'eng /tăk/, Mundari /kera/, Karen /pəna/.	丑 chǒu (SV sửu, xú, VS trâu, xấu) || M 丑 (丒) chǒu (sửu, xú) < MC ʈʰuw < OC *n̥ʰuʔ | According to Starostin, C 丑 chǒu < MC ʈhjəw < OC *snruʔ. Cf. 牛 níu (SV ngưu) | M 牛 níu < MC ŋuw < OC *ŋʷɯ. Etymologically, Its association with the ox is from Austroasiatic (Mei, 1980; Norman, 1985; Ferlus, 2013); compare Proto-Vietic *c-luː (“water buffalo”), Proto-Mon-Khmer *krpiʔ ~ *krpiiw ~ *krpuʔ ~ *(kr)puh (“buffalo”), Proto-Austroasiatic *k.r.pu.y (“buffalo”).	****Like the case of 午 wǔ (SV ngọ) being posited for 'ngựa', 丑 chǒu is also a plausible candidate for V 'trâu' where /ch-/ and /tr-/ interchange. In the meanwhile there are no cognates in Luce's list.
trái	fruit	Old Mon /sac/, Modern Mon /sat/, Danaw /plé1/, Riang White and Black /plɛ`\ /, Palaung /plɑ'i2/, /pléi2/, Wa pléʔ/, Old Khmer /ple/, Srê /plê, T'eng /pléh/,Lemet /pʿli/, Khasi /soh/	實 shí (SV thực, VS trái) | M 實 shí < MC ʑit < OC *ɦliɡ | According to Starostin, 實 be solid, true; actually, really. Used also for *lit 'fruit'; *lit 'be rich'. The three meanings of 實 are probably one and the same word: 'fruit' < 'to be fruitful = rich'; 'to bring fruits < be effective, true'. Vietnamese has also a colloquial loanword 'thiệt' (real, genuine.) | cf. M 水果 shuǐguǒ (VS tráicây) and 結果 jiéguǒ (1) VS 'kếttrái' (bear fruits), (2) 'kếtquả' (result)	***All /pl-/ ~ /tr-/ forms appears to be cognate to each other, including the C 實 shí and Old Mon /sac/, Modern Mon /sat/ which are cognate to SV 'thực', 'thật' (real). Meanwhile, the Austroasiatic /pl-/ form appears to fit into old VietMuong /blai/ for 'trái'. The question is, "Is any form of C 實, i.e., those of Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, dialects, etc., truly cognate to VS 'trái' and, for that matter, concurrently to all other Austroasiatic forms?
tranh	thatch grass	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /suit/, /tnam cwo/, Danaw /plɑŋ4/, Riang White and Black /plɑŋ-/, Palaung /plɑŋ2/, Wa /plɔŋ2/, Sakai /plôkn/ (thatch leaves), Besisi /ploŋ/, Khasi /phlang/ (grass	莛 tíng (SV đình, VS tranh) | M 莛 tíng < MC dɛjŋ < OC *l'eːŋʔ | Dialects: Cant. ting4, Hẹ tin2	****All other forms point to VS /tranh/ given old Vietic /bl-/ ~ /tr-/ while both the Vietnamese and Chinese forms appear to be cognate.
tranh	palmyra, toddy palm	Old Mon /tāl/ (< Sanskrit), Modern Mon /tā/, Danaw /(tsok4)tʿan2/, Riang White /(tɤŋ-)tʿan-/, Black /tʿɑn-/, Palaung /tʿɑn3/, Sanskrit /tāla/, Old Burmese /tʿan/, Shan /tʿan/	扇葉 shănyè (SV phiếndiệp, VS 'látranh' ~> 'tranh' (Borassus flabellifer)	**Palmyra used to be native in India, so 扇葉 shănyè could simply be a translation of the word.
trai	male	(human) Old Mon /trūs/, Modern Mon /truʾ/, Danaw /pʿrɔh2/, Khmer /prus/	丁 dīng (SV đinh, VS trai) | M 丁 dīng, zhēng (đinh, chênh) < MC tɛjŋ < OC *te:ŋ, *rteːŋ | Ex. 壯丁 zhuàng​dīng (VS traitráng, 'able man'). | Note: 子 zǐ (SV tử) in ancient usage means both 'trai' (male) and 'gái' (female) (M 子 zī, zǐ, zì, zí, zi, cí (tử, tý) < MC tsɨ < OC *ʔslɯʔ and it's doublet is 仔 zǐ, zī (SV tử, tể, tế | Cant. zai21) < MC tsɨ < OC *tsɨ, *ʔslɯ, *ʔslɯʔ || Ex. Cantonese 仔仔 /zai24zai21/ = VS 'contrai' (boy)	****Except for the Mon forms and that of Khmer initial cluster /pr-/ that suggests the interchange with the Vietnamese /tr-/ which is pronounced variably with a single consonant /ʨ-/, /tʂ-/, or /ʈ-/ depending on Vietnamese subdialects.
tiếng	voice, noise	Old Mon /binru/, Modern Mon /baru/, Danaw /rat3/, Rieng White /rɤs\ /, Black /rəs\ /	聲 shēng (SV thanh, VS tiếng) | M  聲 shēng < MC ɕiajŋ < OC qʰjeŋ | Hai. /tjɜ1/, Cant. ʃieŋ21, Amoy: sɨŋ11 (literary); siã11, Tchiewchow: siã11, Fukienese siŋ11 (literary); Zyyy: ʃijəŋ1	******The limited list provided by Luce gives no cognates with the VS  'tiếng', that plausibly is cognate to he Chinese form. Chin. 聲 shēng ~ VS 'tiếng' also denotes the meaning of 'speech', for example, '言語, 口音. ' 與 人 罕言, 語類 楚聲。' (明 · 魏禧《大鐵椎傳》. ) where 楚聲 means "the Chu language' or VS 'tiếngSở'.
thỏ	hare	Old Mon /batāy/, Modern Mon /batāai/, Danaw /yɤn2/, Riang White /pɤl\tāi-/, Black /pəl\tāi-/, Palaung /pɑŋ3ɗɑi2/, /pɑŋ3ɗɔi2/, Wa /pālɑ2/, Old Burmese /yun/, Malay /tapai/, Biat /r'pai/, Srê dərpae/, Shan /paŋtai/	兔 tù (SV thố, VS thỏ) | M  兔 tù < MC tʰuo < OC *tʰaːs	******The Chinese /tù/ is clearly cognate to the VS /thỏ/ while other Mon-Khmer forms deviate a great deal.
thịt	flesh	Old Mon /psun/, Modern Mon /pʿyun/, Danaw /ñəŋ/, Riang White /yɤŋ\ /, Black /mɑi\ /, Palaung /yɑŋ2/, Wa /néʔ3/	肉 ròu (SV nhục, VS ruốc...| M 肉 ròu < MC ȵuwk < OC *njuɡ |For M 肉 (ròu of 'flesh') which has evolved into several forms related to 'flesh' or 'meat' in Sinitic-Vietnamese: (1) nhục, (2) thịt, (3) lụa, (4) giò, (5) rề, (6) rộp, (7) ruốc, (8) nướu, (9) nạc, etc. For the etymon 'thịt', actually there exists the Chin. 膱 zhí (SV thức, VS thịt)	**It looks like we have a case here that we cannot map VS 'thịt' into any of the above languages except for C 膱 zhí (SV thức) but it is 'meat', not 'flesh'. For C /ròu/, here are some VS examples: 骨肉 gǔròu (cốtnhục), 炸肉 zhàròu (chảlụa), 肉鬆 ròusōng (ruốcthịt), 牙肉 yáròu (nướurăng), 肉粉 ròufěn. (nhụcphở)...
thẹn	to be ashamed, shy	Old Mon /twa/(?), Modern Mon /gwa/, Danaw /kăsʿɑ1/, Riang White /kɤsʿér-/, Black /kəsʿé ʔ -/, Palaung /sɔ’i2/, Wa /kɑɪc5/.	慚 cán (SV tàm, VS thẹn) | M 慚 cán < MC dzam < OC *za:m	***The Vietnamese form is cognate to that of the Chinese form 慚 cán. However, it is interesting to note that in Vietnamese there are other words for ‘shame’, e.g., ‘mắccở’ (Chin. 愧咎 kuìjìu) and ‘cở’ that appears to be similar to other Mon-Khmer forms that start with /k-/ or /g-/ and VS 'xấuhổ' (Chin. 慚愧 cánkuì) where 'xấu' ~ Mon-Khmer /-s-/ vocables.
thôn	village	Viet. /tỉnh/, Old Mon /twañ/, Modern Mon /kwān/, Danaw /tăbo4/, Riang White and Black /pruʔ\ /, Palaung /re:u2/, Wa /yɑ'uŋ2/, Old Khmer /sruk/, T'eng /kūŋ/	村 cūn (SV thôn, VS xóm) | M 村 cūn < MC tsʰwən < OC *shuːn	***Luce’s attempt to equate Viet. tỉnh with Old Mon /twañ/ is erroneous. Tỉnh is a Sino-Vietnamese reflex of 省 shěng ‘province’, not a native form for ‘village’. The confusion likely arose from faulty elicitation or recorder error, reflecting a broader pattern of misinterpretation among early Western fieldworkers insufficiently grounded in the working language.
thóc	millet	No Mon, Danaw /kʿwé4/, Riang White /(kɑi-)kʿuɑi-/, Black /(kai-)kʿuai-/, no Palaung and Wa forms, Khasi /krai/	粟 sù (SV túc. VS thóc) | M 粟 sù < MC suawk < OC *sog	***While the Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate, some forms in other languages look like 'khoai', though, in Vietnamese, meaning 'yam, taro' or SV 'cốc' cereal which in turn is from the C 穀 gǔ as in SV ngũcốc (五穀 wǔgǔ).
thuốc	drug, medicine	Old Mon /kin-ūy/, Modern Mon /ga-uai/, Danaw /lɔŋ2ŋɑ4/, /tɔŋ2ŋɑ4/, Riang White /sʿɤnɤm\ /, Black /sʿənəm\, sănam2/, Wa /ʃi4tah5/, /Khmer /tʿnām/, Srê /sənɔm/	藥 yào (SV dược), VS thuốc) | M  藥 (葯) yào, yuè, shuò, lüè < MC jɨak < OC *lawɢ | According to Starostin: to give medicine, cure. Also used in the diesheng 勺藥 *dakw|-lakw| 'peony'. |  Cf.  ¶ /y- ~ th-/, Ex. 龠 yuè (SV dược ~ thược), 鑠 shuò (SV thước)	******The Vietnamese form 'thuốc' is clearly cognate to the Chinese form 藥 yào (SV dược).
than	charcoal	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kʿyah/, Danaw /tɔk4tsUət3/, Riang White /kɤr\tji:s-/, Black /kər\cʿas/, etc.	炭 tàn (SV thán, VS than) | M 炭 tàn < MC tʰan < OC *tŋ̥ʰaːns	******No other Austroasiatic or Mon-Khmer forms are cognate with the VS  /than/ that is clear the only cognate only the C /tàn/.ly
tay	hand	Viet. /tay/, Old Mon /tey/, Modern Mon /tai/ Danaw /ti1/, Riang White and Black /tiʔ-/, Palaung /ɗɑ'2/, /ɗéi2/, Wa /tɑʔ1/, Old Khmer /tai/, Sakai /tok, /ti/, Semang /tɔŋ/, Nicobarese /tai/, Car Nicobarese /tiʾ/, Bahnar /tɪ/, P'uman /chʿi/, T'eng /tiʔ/, Khasi /kti/, War /taɪ/, Mundari /tɪhī/, /tɪʔ/, Gadaba /tītī/, Kurku /tī/	手 shǒu (SV thủ, VS tay) | M 手 shǒu < MC ɕuw < OC *hnjɯwʔ | According to Starostin: Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *tǝj, Proto-Viet-Muong: *sɤj, Proto-Vietic: *sɤj, Thomson: sai.4, Tum: sǝj.45, Proto-Katuic: *tǝj., Khmer: taj < OK taj | Etymologically, 杻 (“handcuffs”) can be written as 杽, so 丑 (OC *ᵇhnruʔ) (with a nasal initial) and 手 seem to be interchangeable as phonetics. Cf. 丑 chǒu (SV sửu, xú, VS trâu, xấu)	***Viet. /tej1/ ~ Chin. /shǒu/ appear to be cognate to all the languages involved, including the C '臂 bì (SV tỵ /tej6/)'. In the meanwhile altogether with the Chin. M 指 zhǐ, they seem to be speculative. cf. Japanese 手 /te/Note: Besides Chin. 手, there exi. sts also a 臂 bì (SV tý), denoting 'arm', plus the 指 zhǐ (SV chỉ) form, denoting 'finger', of which the lexemes with /ti/ and /chi/ are included to match those in the list.: M 臂 bì, bèi < MC pje < OC *peks, and M 指 zhǐ, zhì, zhī < MC tɕɨ < OC *kijʔ
tai	ear	(outer; inner) Old Mon /ktor/, Modern Mon /ktow/, Danaw /kătən4/, /kătɔn4/, Riang White /tiôr-/, /kɔtiak-/, Black /tsor-/, /kɔtiɛ`k-/, Palaung /hyUʔ1/, Wa /yɑɯʔ2/, Sakai /ĕntāk/, Besisi /tögn/, /töŋ/, Semang /kentk/, Nicobarese /nâŋ/, Bat /tôr/, Srê /tur/, Bahnar /dɔn/, T'eng /kədɔʔ/, Khasi /shkor/, Mundari /lutūr/, Kurku /lutur/	耷 tāp (SV đạp, VS tai, 'big ear'), M 耷 dā, zhé < MC tap < OC *taːb |  Siamese, Lao tūp_ (pendant ears) (p. 71) | (Haudricourt) Daic Siamese, Lao, Ahom, Shan, Tay noir, Tay blanc, Dioi ta, Tho tha, Nung ha (p. 456), Also: Viet. 'say' (?), tai, *tśru Daic Siamese, Lao, Shan, Tay noir, Tay blanc hu, Tho su, Nung khyu, Cao-lan lɯ Sui qha, Mak tśha, Bê sa, Li say (p. 488) | Chin. #耳朵 ěrtuō (SV nhĩđoá, VS 'lỗtai') | M 耳 ěr, rén, réng (SV nhĩ, nhưng) < MC ȵɨ < OC njɯʔ  || M 朵 (朶) duǒ < MC twa < OC *toːlʔ  | Cf. 耼 dān (VS tai)	**The Viet. /tai/ is not listed here but all the other forms appear to be cognate. The Chinese form 耳朵 ěrtuō posited for 'lỗtai', that, interestingly, looks like those of Mundari /lutūr/ and Kurku /lutur/ but it is subjected to speculation, though.
sớm	early	Old Mon /pras/ (=early), mod /prah/, Danaw /tsɑo2/, Riang White /tjɑu\ /, Black /tsɑ\ /, Palaung /sɑ'u2/, Wa /tjɑ'u2/, Archaic Chinese /*tsôg/, Burmese /co/, Shan /caw/	早 zăo (SV tảo, VS sớm, chào) | 早 zăo < MC tsaw < OC *ʔsuːʔ  | According to Starostin, 早 zăo < MC cʌw < OC *cūʔ < PST *cǝ̄w, cf. Burm. ćawh 'early', Kach. ǯau33 id. (see IST 54).	****It looks like all these forms are cross linguistic family etyma. In reality, in Chin. there are many words for 'early'. The question is what makes this basic concept is cognate to that of Old Chinese for those Mon-Khmer languages.
sắt	iron	Old Mon /birsey/, Modern Mon /pasai/, Danaw /mɛ`4θi1/, Riang White and Vlack /hir-/, Palaung /hlɛ`k1/, Wa /riɛm2/, Malay /běsi/, Sakai /běsi/, Păo Karen /pʿasi/, Old Khmer /hir/	鐵 tiě (SV thiết , VS sắt, thèp) | M 鐵 tiě, dié < MC tʰet < OC *l̥ʰiːɡ | Note: From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hljak (“iron”). Cognate with Tibetan ལྕགས (lcags). According to the Shuowen, alternative forms included 銕 (OC *l'iːl, *l̥ʰiːd). Compare 驖 (OC *l̥ʰiːɡ, *l'iːɡ, “black horse”).	*****The Vietnamese forms 'sắt', thép' are clearly cognate to the C 鐵 tiě. If the forms /-si/ ~ /hir/ forms in other languages are variants of the Chinese form then they must be loanwords.
sấm	thunderbolt, thunder	Viet. /sấm/, no Old Mon, Modern Mon /dʿaguiw/, /gatah/, Danaw /...tɔŋ4man2/, Riang White /(tɤkɤr-)tɤr\nam\ /, Black /(təkər-)tər\nam\ /, /sər\nam\ /, Palaung / kănam3/, /sănam1/, Wa /mwè2/, /ʃǐnum2/, Khmer /phgar/, Malay /tagar/, T'eng /həŋkǔr/, Cham /grom/, Bahar /grom/	霆 tíng (SV đình) | M 霆 tíng, dìng, tǐng, xiāo < MC dieŋ < OC *ɬhe:ŋ | Pulleyblank: LM tɦajŋ < EM dɛjŋ | ¶ d- ~ s-	**If all other Mon-Khmer forms can relate the V 'sấm' by way of the sound change pattern /d-(t-)/ ~> /s-/, then the Chinese form with the sound xiāo is notable. See also 雷 lěi (SV lôi)
sạn	rest house	Old and Modern Mon /jrap/, Danaw /kărɔt2/, Riang White /sʿrɔp\ /, Black /tsərɔp\ /, Palaung /tjarɔp1/, Wa /brɔk3/, Sakai /cherup/ (crosspieces), karob / (bamboo bed), T'eng /jěrap (bed), Old Burmese /carap/, Pa8o Karen /tjărɔp/	棧 zhàn (SV sạn, trăn, chăn, xiễn, VS sàn ) | M 棧 zhàn, chán, chén < MC ʒan, ʒan < OC *ʒhranʔ, *ʒhrans | According to Starostin, 棧 zhàn 'carriage box made of lath or bamboo'. Also read *ʒ́(h)rān-s, MC ʒ̣ạ̀nid. (MC also has an irregular variant ʒ̣ạ̈́n). A somewhat later meaning is 'flooring (on a mountain pass)', whence probably Viet. sàn 'floor, flooring'. Standard Sino-Viet. is sạn. | Ex. 客棧 kèzhàn (SV kháchsạn, 'inn, tavern')	*It is not quite straigth all these cited lexicons actually refer to, probably a 'guest-house', 'tavern', 'inn' or something similar which is in agreement with the Chin. 棧 zhàn. All the phonetic appearance and words with the meaning 'bed' appear associated with the VS 'sạp' (榻 tà, SV thạp, 'stall), though, or 'sàn' (platform on tilts), which loosely resembles a wooden or bamboo short-legged stall where people can sit or lie down to rest.
sưng	swell	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /guh/, Danaw /Uət3/, Riang White and Black /as-/, Palaung /ah3/, Wa /u1ah5/, Sakai /ki- âs, Srê /as/, T’eng /tərʔɛh/, Khasi /at/, /iar/.	腫 zhǒng (SV thũng, trũng, VS sưng) | M 腫 zhǒng < MC cuawŋ < OC *tjoŋʔ	****The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are clearly cognate to each other while other Mon-Khmer forms seem to show no relation. (1)
sóc	squirrel	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /prip/, Danaw /plɑi2/, Riang White /kɤlɑ'i\ /, Black /klɑ\ /..)	松鼠 cōngshǔ (SV tùngthử, VS consóc) | M  松 sōng < MC tʑjöuŋ < OC *lhoŋ, *sɢloŋ || M 鼠 shǔ < MC ɕɨə̆ < OC *lhiaʔ | Dialects: Amoy /chu3/, Chaozhou /chy3/, Fuzhou, Jianou /chʊ3/, Tc chu2, Wenzhou /chei21/, Hakka /chu2/, Xiamen /chu2/, Trc chɨ21, Fuzhou /chy2/, Shanghai /chʊ3/ | According to Starostin, OC *ɬh- (normally yielding t.h, but here having given a dialectal reflex *s/h- > s/-) is reconstructed on the basis of Min forms: Xiamen chu3, Chaozhou chy3, Fuzhou, Jianou chu3.	***Several Mon-Khmer forms listed by Luce (e.g. Mon /prip/, Riang /klɑ/) show no clear connection to Vietnamese sóc. The Vietnamese form aligns more plausibly with Chinese 松鼠 cōngshǔ, if one allows for a “drop‑out” factor in which one syllable of the compound falls away. This would explain the resemblance between sóc and the second element 鼠 shǔ. If, however, 松鼠 is itself a compound coined to describe a non‑native animal, then its etymological trajectory parallels that of 狗 gǒu ‘dog’ or 虎 hǔ ‘tiger’ , terms widely thought to have southern origins. In that case, the Chinese form may ultimately derive from a Taic source, since the Mon–Khmer comparanda provide no convincing pathway.
sâu	deep	Viet. /sâu/, Old Mon /jrūh/, Modern Mon /sjuih/, Danaw /kărúi2/, Riang White /tjɤruʔ\ /, Black /tsəruʔ\ /, Palaung /lɯk1/, Wa /rɯʔ2/, Old Khmer /jrau/, /jamrau/, Sakai /jěru/, Javarese /jěro/, Stieng /jorǔh/, Srê /juruh/, Bahnar /jěruʔ/, T'eng /jru/, Khasi /jylliew/	深 shēn (SV thâm, VS sâu) | M 深 shēn (thâm, thẩm) < MC ɕim < OC *hljum, *hljums	****Except for the fact that VS 'sâu' is cognate to the C 深 shēn, but it is interesting to see that its resemblance of the modern Mon /sjuih/ and V /sâu/. Meanwhile all variants given in the list are from the same source starting with /j-/
sáu	six	Viet. /sáu/, Old Mon /taraw/, Modern Mon /tarau/, Wa /lyah5/	六 lìu (SV lục, VS sáu) || M 六 (陸, 祿) lìu, lù, líu < MC luwk < OC *rug | FQ 力竹 | According to Starostin, be six, six. For *rh- cf. Jianyang so8, Shaowu su7. | ¶ /l- ~ s-/, Ex. 浪 làng (SV lãng, VS sóng, 'wave'), 蓮 lián (SV liên, VS sen, 'lotus')	***Chin. 六 lìu is highly plausible a cognate with both Wa /lyah5/ and V 'sáu'.In all other languages the etyma appear in polysyllabic form with the common last syllable as -ru. As we all may already know, there is no 'six' in Khmer but 'five plus one' equivalent. It is still possible that 六 lìu > VS 'sáu'. Why not?
sao	star	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /snaŋ/, Danaw /kălɑn2/, Riang White /sʿɤkmɤiñ\ /, /sʿəkməiñ\ /, Palaung /ʃi4múiñ2/, Bahnar /səŋlɔŋ/, Srê /səmañ/, T'eng /səlmiñ/, Lemet /sremeñ/, Khasi /khlur, War /shlashmen/	星 xīng (SV tinh, VS sao) | M 星 xīng < MC seŋ < OC *sleːŋ	****The appearance of both the VS /sao/ and Chin. /xīng/ is the closest sound as compared to other forms.
rừng	forest	Old Mon grīp/, Modern Mon /gruip/ Danaw /pʿrɑ2bo4/, Riang White /priʔ\ /, Black /prɪʔ\ /, Palaung /bréɪ2/, Wa /brɑʔ3/, Old Khmer /vraɪ/, Sakai /brɪ/, Besisi /ʾmbri/, Semang /těpɪʾ/, Srê /brɪ/, T'eng /brɪ/, K'mu /mprɪ/, Khasi /brɪ/, (=grove), Mundari /bɪr/	林 lín (SV lâm, VS rừng) | M  林 lín < MC lim < OC *ɡ·rɯm  | cf. 森 (SV sâm, VS rậm) VS 'rậm' ~ OC /*srjəm/, dialect Cant. /lʌm2/ | ¶ /l- ~ r-/. Ex. 龍 lóng (SV long), VS rồng 'dragon' | Note: Tibetan languages Kachin: diŋgram2 'forest', Lushei: ram 'forest', Burmese: rum 'dense'.	***Including the /brɪ/ form, most of them are loosely cognate to the VS 'rừng' which is more affirmatively a plausible cognate with the Chin /lín/.
rời	go out, issue	Old Mon /tīt/, Modern Mon /tit/, Danaw /lé2/, Riang White and Black /lɛ`\ /, Palaung /lih3/, Wa /lih5/, /lah5/, Biat /lôh/, Khasi /mih/.	離 lí (SV li, VS lìa | M 離  lí, lì, lǐ, chī, gǔ < MC lei, liə̆ < OC *rel, *re:l, *re:ls	****Those MK forms appear to be cognate to Viet. 'rời' and Chin. 離 /lí/ with a slight deviation in meaning which could possibly point to VS /ra1/ or 出 chū in Chinese to mean 'go out'.
rốn, rún	navel	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /poŋluit/, Danaw /kon4dɑiŋ4/, Riang White /kluŋdi:ŋ-/, Black /kən\diŋ-/, Palaung /kădan2/, Wa /pi:t1/, K Khmer /pʿoit/, Semang /lus/, T'eng /kəndɪñ/, Khasi /sohpet/	臍 qí (SV tề, VS rún, rốn | M 臍 qí < MC dzei < OC *zliːl | ¶ /q- ~ r-/ . Ex. 肚臍 dùjí (VS lỗrún)	*It looks like there is no candidate for the cognate to V 'rún' here. Usually in this case, if we look hard enough we may find something other forms in Chinese.
rễ	root	Viet. /rễ/, no Old Mon, mod. /ruih/, Danaw /tɔŋ2rít4/, Riang White rias\ /, Black /riɛ`\ /, Palaung /riɛh3/, Wa /riah5/, Khmer /rīs/, rưs/, Besisi /purus/, Semang /yaes/ Car Nicobarese /Reh/, Sre^ /riăs/, Bahnar /riəh/, /rə/, T'eng /riaχ/, /riɛχ/, Khasi /trai/, Mundai /redʔ/	蒂 dì (SV đế, VS rễ) | M 蒂 (蔕) dì, dài, zhài < MC tei < OC *te:ds | ¶ /d- ~ r-/. Ex. 根蒂 gēndì (VS gốcrễ, 'root')	***Even though all other languages demonstrate apparently plausible cognates etymologically, the VS 'rễ' and Chin. /dì/ form also show similar correspondences phonologically.
rắn	snake	Old and Modern Mon /jrum/, Danaw /păθén4/, Riang White and Black /hiəñ-/, Palaung /hanʔ2/, Wa /ʃi4ʔúiñ2/, Semang /jěkob/, Nicanarese /pai(d)/, Car Nicobarese /péich/, Khasi /bseiñ/, Mundari /bin/	蛇 shé (SV xà, di, VS rắn) | M 蛇 (虵) shé, chí, tuó, yí, yé (trà, xà, đà, di) < MC tʰa, jiə̆, ʑia < OC *l̥ʰaːl, *lal, *ɦljaːl| According to Starostin, 'snake'; also read *laj (MC je, FQ 弋支, Mand. yí) in the compound 委蛇 *?w|aj-laj 'be compliant, gracious'. | ¶ s- ~ r- | Also /yì/ as in 委蛇 wěiyì (VS ngoằnngoèo) 'zigzag'	**Variably some of the listed form are cognates while the Chinese form is only a matter of speculation. 龍 lóng (SV long, VS rồng, 'dragon' is another candidate.
rẫy	hill cultivation	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /gū/, Danaw /ré1/, /hré1/, Riang White and Black /mɑ\ /, Palaung /mɑr2/, Wa /mɑ2/, T'eng /hré/, Biat, Srê /mir/, Khasi /kper/ (field)	壠 lǒng (SV lũng, VS rẫy) | M 壟 (壠) lǒng, lōng < MC luawŋ < OC *roŋʔ | Note: Chin. also has a compound 梯田 tītián (SV thêđiền) that points to another Vietnamese word as 'ruộngbậcthang' M 梯田 tītián, meaning 'terraced field' but that does not look like original indigenous words.	***While VS. 'rẫy' appears to be cognate to some of Mon-Khmer words, the Chin. 梯田 tītián could be the case of contraction if it has anything to do with the VS 'rẫy' at all while the Chin 壠 lǒng (SV lũng) is more in line with  VS 'luống' and 'nương', Ex. 菜壟 ( càillǒng, VS luốngrau.)
răng	tooth	Viet. /răng/, No Old Mon, mod. /ŋek/, Danaw /pəiŋ4/, Rieng White /rɑŋ-/, Black /rɑ:ŋ-/, Palaung /hrɑŋ2/, Wa /rɑn2/, T'eng /hraŋ/	牙 yá (SV ngà, VS răng) | M 牙 yá, yă, yà  < MC ŋa < OC *ŋra: | Wiktionary: Etymologically. STEDT provisionally sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋja (“tusk; tooth”), comparing it to Mizo ngho (“tusk; fang”), Manipuri ꯌꯥ (yā, “tooth”), Mru (hngou, “tooth”), Pa'o Karen (tə́ʔ ŋà, “tooth”). | Cf. 齡 líng (SV linh, VS răng < MC leŋ, lɛjŋ < OC *riŋ, *reːŋ (Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *reːŋ): semantic 齒 (“tooth”) + phonetic 令 (OC *ren, *reŋ, *reŋs, *reːŋ, *reːŋs) – tooth being associated with age. Compare English long in the tooth (“old”) and don't look a gift horse in the mouth (“(to check teeth for age)”).	***All forms, including that of Vietnamese, appear to be cognates while the mod. Mon /ŋek/ somewhat look similar to SV /ngà/.The pictogram of a pair of elephant tusks. According to Xu Shen, this pictogram was used to indicate human molars but not front teeth/incisors (齒). Norman and Mei (1976) propose that this was a substrate loan; cf. Proto-Vietic *ŋaː (“ivory”) (Vietnamese ngà), Proto-Tai *ŋaːᴬ (“tusk; ivory”) (Thai งา (ngaa)). Pulleyblank (1983) disagrees with their hypothesis and considers Old Chinese to be the donor of this Wanderwort instead.
rái	otter	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /pheʾ/, Danaw /bUn2/, Rinag White /bUn\ /, Black /bon-/, Palaung /mUn3/, /bUn3/, Wa /pʿɛi1/	獺 tă, tà (SV thát, VS rái, tấy) | M 獺 tǎ, tà < MC tʰat < OC *r̥ʰaːd, *hr̥'aːd | Wiktionary: Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ram-s (“otter”) (Matisoff, 2010). If so, cognate with Tibetan སྲམ (sram), Burmese ဖျံ (hpyam) (Hill, 2019). See Matisoff (2010) for a possible explanation for the apparent discrepancy in the coda (Chinese -t vs. Tibeto-Burman -m). Baxter and Sagart (2014) posit an optional animal prefix (?) as a way to account for the alternation between /th-/ and /trh-/ in Middle Chinese, citing Proto-Hmong *ntshju̯aᴬ, which shows prenasalization.	***Chin. 獺 (tǎ, tà < MC tʰat < *r̥ʰaːd, *hr̥'aːd) is clearly cognate to VS 'rái' and 'tấy'. where /*srhāt/ ~> /raj5/. Etymologically, in spite of a phonological discrepancy, rái and tấy are both regular reflexes of the Proto-Vietic word in terms of dialectal development, with most Vietnamese dialects spirantized medial *-s- to ‹r› while the North Central dialects kept the *-s- (that later regularly shifted to ‹t›) unaffected by the presyllable *p-. For the ‹ay›-‹ây› (< *eː) correspondence, compare North Central gấy vs. standard written gái, trấy vs. trái, cây vs. gai.
ruồi	house-fly	Viet. /ruồi/, no Old Mon, mod. /ruai/, Danaw /rui4/, /hrui4/, Riang White and Black /ruəɪ\ /, Palaung /rɔ'i2/, Wa /rɔi2/, Khmer /ruy/ Sakai /rūl/, /ruoi/, Besisi /roi/, Nicobarese /yüe/, Car Nicobarese /ɪn-Rúɛ/, Biat /rʾhūai/, Bahnar /rɔi/, T'eng /ròé/, Mundari /roko/	蠅 yíng (SV dăng, VS ruồi, nhặng, lằng) | M QT 蠅 yíng < MC jiŋ < OC *b·lɯŋ | Etymolgy: Mei‑Ling Tsu notes that ruồi reflects Proto‑AA ruwaj ‘fly’, a very old Austroasiatic root. (See Table 1B -  The Case 蠅 yíng ‘fly’)	***All Mon-Khmer etyma are cognates while the Chinese form 蠅 yíng with VS 'nhặng', 'lằng' could evolve into alternative sound "ruồi". The Chu dialect used 維虫 rwəi ‘fly’, attested in the Chuyu 楚語 section of the Guoyu 國語: 亡虫 維虫 之 既 多 “Many gnats and flies.”
rau	vegetables, curry (Luce)	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /swa/, /kʿanew/, Danaw /tu1/, Riang White /sʿɤtuʔ-/, Black /sʿətuʔ-/, Palaung /ɗéu2/, Wa /sɑɯʔ1/, Khasi /jhur/	菜 cài (SV thái, VS rau) | M 菜 cài (thái, thế) < MC tsʰəj < OC *shɯːs | Etymology: From 采 (OC *sʰɯːʔ, “to gather; to pluck”) + nominalizing *-s, literally “what is gathered or plucked” (Sagart, 1999; Schuessler, 2007).	***For the denotation of 'vegetables', only the Chinese form /cài/ seems to be cognate to the VS 'rau' while Luce's cited 'curry' is irrelevant.
quảvả	fig tree (Ficus)	Old Mon /jrey/, Modern Mon /jrai/, Danaw /kăriʔ1/, Riang White /tjɤriʔ\ /, Black /tjəriʔ\ /, Palaung /tăruŋ2/ (F religiosa), Old Khmer /jray/, /jrai/, Sakai /wi/, Semang /sawet/, Malay /jawi-jawi/, Car Nicobarese /chăRi/ (banyan), Biat /rʿwi/, Bahar /jəri/, T'eng /jri/, Khasi /jri/ (=rubbei), Mundari /ãri/, /bari/	無花果 wúhuāguǒ (Ficus carica) ~ VS 'quảvả' \ @ 無花 wúhuā ~> 'vả'	*The only etymon to relate the compound 無花果 wúhuāguǒ is that 無花 wúhuā gives rise to the contracted 'vả' with the clipping of the syllable /huā/ .
ongmật	honey bee	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /sāai/, Danaw /tsɔŋ4hən2/, Riang White /tjɤr\ŋur\ /, Black /tsən\ŋur\ /, Palaung /pʿrər2/, Wa /hiɑ2/, Car Nicobarese /sɛ`k mak/, T'eng /brǔʾŋ/, /prǔʾŋ/	蜜蜂 mìfēng (SV mậtphong, VS mậtong) ~ 蠮螉 *ʔīt-ʔōŋ (SV nghệông, VS ongnghệ | Note: 螉 wēng (SV ông, VS ong) ~ 蜂 fēng (SV phong) | M 螉 wēng < MC ʔəwŋ < OC *qloːŋ | According to Starostin: a k. of small bee (Han). Used only in compounds: 螉 *ʔōŋ-shoŋ, 蠮螉 *ʔīt-ʔōŋ denoting a k. of small bee or gadfly, thus the borrowed nature of Viet. ong is questionable (cf. PAA *hɔ:ŋ / *ʔɔ:ŋ 'bee' = PAN *wani, *qawani id.). The standard Sino-Viet. reading of 螉 is ông. || M 蜂 fēng < MC pʰuawŋ < OC *pʰoŋ, *boŋ	******It is for certainty that the Chin. compound 蜜蜂 mìfēng is cognate to Vietnamese. 'ongmật', but in reverse order, a common phenomenon of Chinese loanwords in Vietnamese. For other languages, see the item 'ong' (bee).
ong	wasp, hornet	Viet. /ong/, no Old Mon, mod. /huiŋ/, Danaw /(mɑʔ3)ôn4/, Riang White /vwɔŋ-vwɔl-/, Black /uaŋ-/, Palaung /ɔn2/, /kă\ʔɔn2/, Wa /ɔŋ2/, Old Khmer /srāŋ/ (?), Sakai /ôkn/ Besisi /hoŋ/, Semang /oŋ/, /ēŋ/, /wuŋ/, Bahnar /ōŋ/, Srê /oŋ/	螉 wēng (SV ông, VS ong) | M 螉 wēng < MC ʔəwŋ < OC *qloːŋ | Example: 黃蜂 huángfēng (SV hoàngphong, VS ongvò, 'wasp'), 胡蜂 húfēng (SV hồphong, VS ongvò, 'wasp') | Wiktionary: Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *qloːŋ): semantic 虫 (“worm”) + phonetic 翁 (OC *qloːŋ). Etymologically, compare Proto-Austroasiatic *ʔɔːŋ (“wasp; hornet”) (whence Proto-Vietic *ʔɔːŋ (“honey bee”) > Vietnamese ong (“bee”). According to Starostin, a k. of small bee (Han). Used only in compounds: 螉䗥 *ʔōŋ-shoŋ, 蠮螉 *ʔīt-ʔōŋ denoting a k. of small bee or gadfly, thus the borrowed nature of Viet. ong is questionable (cf. PAA *hɔ:ŋ / *ʔɔ:ŋ 'bee' = PAN *wani, *qawani id.). The standard Sino-Viet. reading of 螉 is ông.	******Like 蜜蜂 mìfēng, the Chin. 蜂 fēng is plausibly a cognate with the VS         'ong'. For other Mon-Khmer languages, in contrast with the VS 'ongmật' above, which is similar to Danaw /(mɑʔ3)ôn4/ 'honey bee', they all are cognates. In both Chinese and Vietnamese there exist the form 螉 wēng (SV ông) and it is a doublet 蜂 fēng for VS 'ong'.
nội, ngoại, ông	grandfather	Old Mon /lwaʾ/, Modern Mon /la/, Danaw /tɑ1/, Riang White and Black /tɑʔ/, Palaung /tɑ3/, Wa /tɑʔ1/, Old Khmer /atā/ (=old man)	(1) 內 nèi (SV nội), M 內 (内) nèi, nà < MC nuoi < OC *nuːbs | (2) 外 wài (SV ngoại) | M 外 wài < MC ŋwaj < OC *ŋʷaːds || (3) M 公 gōng < MC kəwŋ < OC *klo:ŋ | Note: Viet. 'ông' is cognate to southern dialectal Chin. 阿公 āgōng (SV acông) that encompasses both maternal or paternal grandfathers in a wide range of speeches in terms to address kinship. There exist both the M 外公 wàigōng (SV ngoạicông, VS ôngngoại, 'maternal grandpa') and dialectal 內公 nèigōng (SV nộicông, VS ôngnội) due to dialectal differentiations whereas 'paternal grandfather' in modern Mandarin is 爺爺 yéye or Hainanese and Hokkien 阿公 āgōng (for VS ông)	****There is no distinction from the mother's or father's side for the word 'grandfather' as listed here. Amusingly enough, for all the forms of they seem to be similar to the VS /tía/ that is cognate to 爹 diè (VS 'cha') in Chin. to mean 'daddy' instead. See more in the Sino-Tibetan chapter.
nồi	pot	Old Mon /klas (< Sanskrit), /tumbāy/, /timbāy/, Modern Mon /tʿamāai/, Danaw /lɑ1/, Riang White and Black /kloʔ-/, Palaung /kaloʔ1/, Wa /ɔ2/ (=cooking pot), Sanskrit /kalasa/, Biat /glăh/, Khasi /khew/	豆 dòu (SV đậu, VS nồi) | modern M 豆 dòu = Viet. (hạt)đậu = 'peas' | Viet. 'chậu, thau, nồi, nấu' ~ © M 豆 dòu < MC dəw < OC *do:s | According to Starostin: a dou vessel. A round vessel of clay or wood for serving solid food. Since Late Zhou the character is used for a homonymous word *d(h)o:s 'bean(s)'.	****The V /nồi/ is cognate to the Chinese form 豆 dòu as conveyed with the old meaning of this original basic ideograph.
nỏ	bow, crossbow	Old and Modern Mon /tŋa/, Danaw /ɑk4/, Riang White and Black /ɑk-/, Palaung /kɑŋ3/, /kɑŋ3ɑʔ4/ (=catapult), Wa /ɑʔ1/ (=crossbow), Sakai /āg/, Stieng /ak/, Srê /a3/, Lemet /ak/, Mundari /aʔ/	弩 nú (SV nỗ, VS nỏ, ná) | M 弩 nǔ < MC nuo < OC *naːʔ | According to Starostin: Viet. ná is an archaic loanword; a somewhat later loan from the same source is Viet. nỏ id.; standard Sino-Viet. is nỗ̃. In Chinese the word is witnessed since Late Zhou (Zhouli), but already in Shujing we meet a word 砮 *n(h)āʔ, *n(h)ā, MC nó, no, Mand. nǔ, Viet. nỗ 'flint arrowhead' – which may be historically the same word. For *nh- cf. Xiamen lɔ6, Jianou noŋ8.	******It has long been reckoned that the VS nỏ 'catapult' is derived from the Chin. 弩 nú which in turn originated from the Mon-Khmer languages. In the meanwhile the V /ná/ 'slingshot' is a direct cognate to them. In any cases they are all cognate to each other despite of the fact the initial /N-/ dropped from the /-aK/ forms and the Palaung forms /kɑŋ3/ and /kɑŋ3ɑʔ4/ alternately are cognate to 弓 gōng, SV 'cung' that means 'bow'.
nặng	heavy	Old Mon /sjiŋ/, Modern Mon /sjuiŋ/, Danaw /kătsan2/, Riang White /kɤtjɛ`\ /, Black Riang White /kətjɛ`\ /, Palaung /tjian2/, Wa /ji:n2/, Old Khmer /jyeŋ/ (=weigh), T’eng /kətăm/, /tăm/	重 zhòng (SV trọng, VS nặng) | M 重 zhòng, chóng (SV trọng, trùng) < MC ɖuawŋ < OC *doŋ, *doŋʔ, *doŋs| ¶ /zh- ~ n- /: ex. 這 zhèi (giả) nầy, Hainanese /daŋ6/, TrC: taŋ22	****The Chinese form /zhòng/ is clearly cognate to the VS nặng. Except for the Riang forms, all other Mon-Khmer forms are cognates also. How they are related to each other is another question. Could they be loanwords borrowed via the Vietnamese medium?
nằm	sleep, lie down	Old Mon /stīk/, Modern Mon /stik/, Danaw /ti:n2/, Riang White /yɛ`t-/, Black /yat-/, /yɛ`t-/, Palaung /iʔ1/, Wa /it1/, Khmer /tak/, Srê /jětek/, Nicobarese /teak/, Lemet /lit/, Khasi /thiah/, Mundari /gitiʔ/.	躺 tăng (SV thảng, VS nằm) | M  躺 (儻) tăng < MC tʰaŋ < OC *tʰaːŋʔ | ¶ /t- ~ n-/ | According to Starostin: Proto-Vietmuong: *ŋɨah, *ŋa:h, (lie) on one's back, Viet. 'ngửa' supine, backwards, Proto-Ruc: *ŋah.1, Ruc: C- taŋa:h.1	***The V ‘nằm’ and the Chin. /tăng/, which are cognate but only means ‘to lie down’, show similarity in sound change patterns that correspond to those of the Mon-Khmer forms. Other Vietnamese and Chin. cognate forms such as 臥 wò, SV 'ngoạ' ~ VS ‘ngủ’ (to sleep) but they deviate from other forms under examination.
nầy	this	Old Mon /awoʾ/, /woʾ/, Modern Mon /naʾ/, Danaw /ni2/, Riang White and Black /ni\ /,Palaung /ări ŋ3/, Wa /ti;n2/, T’eng /gəni/, Khasi /kane/, Mundari /ne/, Shan /nai/, Sakai /hɔ/, Semang /öh/, Stieng /ou/, /âu/, Bahnar /ô/.	那 nà (SV na, VS nầy, nọ, nó, nớ, đó, 'that' | M 那 nà, nèi, nuò, nuó, nă (nỏ, nã, ná) < MC na < OC *na:l, *naːlʔ, *na:ls | According to Starostin, (Schuessler: perhaps: be rich.) In oldest texts the character is used only with the meaning 'to be rich' (sometimes within a compound 猗那 *?a:r-na:r id.). The pronominal meaning (at first only interrogative) appears only during Late Zhou - as a synonym for 奈 *n(h)a:ts 'so what?' (q.v.). Later, during Wei, the character is used for a (probably related) interrogative *n(h)a:/ > MC na^/, Mand. nuo^ (colloq. na^) 'how, what'. Finally, since Tang demonstrative usage is witnessed: MC na^\, Mand. nuo\ (colloq. na\) 'that'. The standard Sino-Viet. reading is nã; này may be an old loanword, or else may be just a rather universal pronominal stem (in Viet. cf. also nó 'he', nọ 'other').	***For the exact word that means ‘this’ in C there is the word 這 zhè (SV giả) VS 'đây', or 'nầy', but to have this item in line with other Mon-Khmer forms, the C /nà/, which is cognate to V ‘nớ’ and ‘đó’, fits well into the sound change pattern. Usually demonstrative adjectives originated from the same roots could vary greatly, etymologically.
nấm	mushroom, fungus	Old Mon ptis/, Modern Mon /ptuɪh/, Danaw /tət3,1/, Riang White /tis-/, Black /kətis-/, /tis-/, Palaung /ɗi:h2/, /ɗi:χ3/, Wa /ti:h5/, Old Khmer /phsit/, Sakai /betis/, Besisi /pětīh/, Semang /tēhs/, Srê /bēsīt/, Biat /chêt/, T'eng /tɪh/, Khasi /tɪt/	Chin. 菌 jūn (SV khuẩn, VS nấm) | 菌 (蕈) jùn, jūn, juàn, qùn < MC ɡʷiɐn, ɡʷɯin < OC *ɡrunʔ, *ɡonʔ | According to Starostin: mushroom (L.Zhou). Viet. khuẩn reflects an unattested variant MC *khwi/n (reflected also in Fuzhou khuŋc,3s|). | ¶ jw-, qw- (*khw-) ~ n- / jw - ~> w-	**The Viet. 'nấm' and Chin. 菌 jùn could be cognates given their phonology with the interchange of palatal affricate to that of nasal sound and meanings.
nướcđái	urine	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /knam/, Danaw /tsɛ`2/, Riang White /nɯm\ /, Black /num\ /, Palaung /hnUm2/, Wa /nɯm2/, Khmer /nom/, Sakai /nom/, Semang /kènom/, Srê /ɗum/, Bahnar /nôm/, T'eng /num/, Khasi /jung/	尿液 niàoyè (SV niệudịch, VS nướcđái) | M 尿 (溺) niào, suī (niệu, tuy) < MC nɛw < OC *neːwɢs | ¶ /n- ~ t-, đ-/ for 'đái' and 'tiểu', and 'nước' is associated with M 液 yè, yì, shì < MC jiajk < OC *la:g	****There is little doubt that the Chin. and the Vietnamese forms are cognates except that the syllabic-word order is in reverse as in many cases of other VS etyma. It is plausible that the original form might be monosyllabic that is cognate to 尿 *njew to mean 'đái' and 'tiểu' (urine), hence + 液 yè (VS 'nước' ~> 'nướctiểu'.
nướcmiếng	spittle	Old Mon /ksas/ (=to spit?), Modern Mon /ɗāk kasah/, Danaw /ñɛ`n2/, Riang White and Black /ñɑŋ-/, Palaung /bɑ'iʔ3/ (to spit), Wa /bɑ'iʔ3/, /bɛ'ʔ3/, Old Khmer /samtoh/, Sakai /toh/, /getɔʾ/, Malay /ludah/, Nicobarese /tapaih/, Bahnar /gəsɔʾ/, T'eng /təʔa/ Khasi /biah (to spit), Mundari /beʔ/)	唾沫 tuòmò (SV thoámạt, SV nướcmiếng) ~ 唾液 tuòyè (SV thoádịch, VS nướcdãi) | M  唾 tuò < MC tʰwa < OC tʰoːls || M 沫 mò, mèi < MC mwat < OC *ma:d || M 液 yè, yì, shì < MC jiajk < OC *la:g	**The only similarity appears thereof is between the Vietnamese and Chinese forms above if we posit 唾 tuò for 'nước' and 沫 mò for 'miếng' and 液 yè for VS 'dãi', or even with 口水 kǒushuǐ in reverse order where 水 shuǐ is 'nước' (<~ 'nák' ) and 口 kǒu ~ 'miếng' ( <~ /m-/ <~ /hw-/ <~ Cantonese /how3/).
nước	water	Viet. /nước/, Old Mon /dāk/, /dek/, Modern Mon /ɗāk/, Danaw /u:n4/, Riang White and Black /om-/, Palaung /om2/, /Um2/, /ɤm2/, /ɛm2/, Wa /rɔm2/, Old Khmer /dik/, Sakai /dak/, Nicobarese /dāk/, Biat /ɗak/, Srê /daʔ/, Bahar /ɗak/, Mundari /dāk/, Savara /dā/, /dāŋ/, Gadaba /dẫ/, Kurku /dā/, T'eng /ʔom/, Lemet /hon/, Khasi /om/	水 shuǐ (SV thuỷ, VS nước) | M 水 shuǐ < MC ʂwi < OC *tujʔ | ¶ /sh- ~ th-/, /th- ~ đ-/, /t- ~ n-/ | Wiktionary: Etymologically, Vietnamese 'nước' from Proto-Vietic *ɗaːk (“water”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *ɗaːkʔ (“water”). Cognates with Nghệan/Hàtĩnh dialects nác, Muong đác, Nguôn đác, Khmer ទឹក (tik), Bahnar đak, Eastern Mnong dak, Central Nicobarese râk/dâk, Santali ᱫᱟᱜ (dak’), Sanskrit दक (daka). The sense of "country" is attested already in Phậtthuyết đạibáo phụmẫu ântrọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經), where the term was spelled as 渃.	***In light of most of etyma appearing in the form /dak/, the Chin. 水 shuǐ and Viet. /nước/ are also likely cognate, cf. 踏 tă (SV đạp, 'tread') and 沓 dá (SV đạp, 'full'). Attested as nước in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651). Alternative forms (North Central Vietnam) nác (no diphthongization).
năm	five	Viet. /năm/, Old Khmer /prām/	五 wǔ (SV ngũ, VS năm) | M 五五 wǔ, wu < MC ŋuo < OC *ŋaːʔ | Wiktionary: Etymologically, for Vietnamese 'năm', From Proto-Vietic *ɗam, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *p(ɗ)am. Cognate with Muong đằm, đăm, Khmer ប្រាំ (pram), Bahnar pơđăm, Halang bơdăm.	*Like number 'two', it looks like the only plausible candidate is in the Old Khmer etymon /prām/ while all others in other languages seem to be diverged with variants, that is, in different shapes and sounds.
năm	year	Viet. /năm/, Old Mon and mod /cnām/, Danaw /nan2/, Riang White and Black /vwi:t\ /, Palaung /snam2/, Wa /num2/, Old Khmer /cnam/, Srê /sənam/, /nam/, Bahnar /hānam/, T'eng /num/, Khasi /snem/, Mundari /sirma/	年 nián (SV niên, VS năm) | M 年 (秊) nián < MC nen < OC *niːŋ | Etymology: from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ni(ŋ~k) (“year”).	******V 'năm' is clearly cognate to the Chin. 年 /nián/ while any Mon-Khmer languages with the 'year' cognate to VS 'năm' is probably a Vietnamese loanword.
nó	he, she	Old Mon /dehh/, Modern Mon /ɗeʾ/, Danaw /anʾ4/, Riang /ɤn-/, Black /hnʔ-/, Palaung /an2/, Wa /an2/, Nicobarese /an/, Mundaria /diya/	他 tā (SV tha, VS nó) | M 他 tā, tuō, duò < MC tʰa < OC *l̥ʰaːl  | According to Starostin: other, different, Protoform: *la:j (s-), Meaning: other. Chinese: 他 *sla:j another. Burmese: ta-lij someone. Lushei: hlei (hlei?) compared with the other. | ¶ t-(th-) ~ n-, h-	****The VS 'nó' is plausibly a cognate with that of Chin. 他 tā with the pattern ¶ /t- ~ n-/. Another possibility is 其 qí (SV kỳ), which is possibly associated with 'va', both with the pattern / ¶ q- ~ n-, v- / but the latter could be a later development.
nách	armpit	No Old Mon, mod. .../knak/..., Danaw /kʿăyɛək2/, Riang White /(ɔk-)yɑk\ /, Black /yɑk\ /, Palaung /yɑʔ1/, Wa .../klaiʔ1/, T'eng /ʿɛk/, /kəlʿɛk/	腋 yè (SV diệt, dịch, VS nách) | M 腋 yè, yì < MC jiajk < OC *lag | ¶ /y-(*l-) ~ n-/	***Luce does not provide the Khmer and Vietnamese forms, but the mod. Mon form /knak/ is likely cognate to VS 'nách' /najk5/ while, interestingly enough, some of the other sounds are somewhat similar to the Chin. /yè/ form.)
nhức	be in pain	Old Mon /uñjey/, /ajey/, Modern Mon /yai/, Danaw /kătsu1/, Riang White and Black /sʿuʔ-/, Palaung /séu2/, Wa /sɑ’ɯʔ1/, Khmer /jnun/, /jnī/, Sakai /ŋi/, /nyi/, /ěnji/, Nicobarese /yē/, /tu/, Stieng, Srê /ji/, Bahnar /ji ʔ/, P’u-man /shu/, T’eng /cu/, /shu/, Lemet /so/, Khasi /suh/, Mundari /hasu/	熱 rè (SV nhiệt, VS nhức, rát, 'sore') | M  熱 rè < MC ȵiat < OC *ŋjed	****All forms seem to cognate to the Vietnamese form /nhức/ including the Chinese form with the doublet form in Vietnamese as 'rát' /rat7/. (2)
nhọn	sharp-pointed	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /ke/, Danaw /tɔŋ2pʿyak3,1/, Riang White /pait-/, paic-/, Palaung /pɑ‘i1/, Wa /pɔ’i3/ (to sharpen), T’eng /bat/ (to sharpen to a point), Khasi /beit/ (straight)	尖 jiān (SV kiên, VS nhọn) | M 尖 jiān < MC tsiam < OC *ʔslem |	***The Mon form suggests something that shows the sound change pattern /j-/ ~ /k-/ with the Chinese form which is cognate to the Vietnamese one. In the meanwhile the Riang and others somehow similar to the Chinese 磨 which appears in Vietnamese as 'mài' /maj2/ (sharpen).
nhà	house	Viet. /nhà/, Old Mon /sŋiʾ/, Modern Mon /sŋi/, Danaw /ña1/, Riang White and Black /kɑŋ\ /, Palaung /gɑŋ2/, Wa /ñéʔ3/, Semang /yi/, /eh/, /hēyaʾ/, Nicobarese /ñī/, Stieng, Alak, Kaseng /ñi/, Biat /ñīh/, Mnong Gar /hīh/, Bahnar /hñẽ/, /hnam/, Lemet /ña/ Khasi /ing/, War /sni/, Juang /iya/, Savana /siŋ/, T'eng /gaŋ/	家 jiā (SV gia, VS nhà) | M  家 jiā, gū, jie (gia, cô) < MC kaɨ < OC *kra: | Wiktionary: Etymologically, from Proto-Vietic *ɲaː (“house”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *ɲaːʔ (“house”). Cognate with Muong Bi nhà (“house”), Tho [Cuối Chăm] ɲɐː², Phong-Kniang ɲaː ("house"), Danau ɲɑ¹, Mang ɲua⁶. The prefix sense is a semantic loan from Chinese 家, for example 科學家 (“scientist”) - nhàkhoahọc (“scientist”).	***Except for forms similar to Riang White and Black /kɑŋ\ /, Palaung /gɑŋ2/, this is an interesting case that all etyma in all languages look like being churned out from the same blender.
nhai	grind (teeth)	No Mon forms, Danaw /tjət3/, Riang White /tɤr\kiɛt-/, Black /kriac-/, Palaung /kik2/, Wa /krɯt1/, Shan /kʿuit/.	咬 yǎo (SV tước, VS nhai) | M 咬 (齩) yăo, āo, jiāo, jiáo (ngão, giảo) < MC ŋaw < OC *kreːw, *ŋɡreːwʔ, *qreːw | Wiktionary: Perhaps Sino-Tibetan; compare Chepang ङेव्‍ह्‌सा (ŋewh-, “to nibble”) (Schuessler, 2007). The Min vernacular readings are reminiscent of Proto-Tai *giəwꟲ (“to chew”), whence Thai เคี้ยว (kíao) (ibid.). For VS 'nhai', etymologically, from Proto-Vietic *-ɲaːj. Compare Mon သ္ၚဲာ (hài, “to chew”), Nyah Kur khəɲàaj.	***While the Vietnamese form may be cognate to the Chinese form, all other Mon-Khmer forms in this limited list start with the initial /k-/ which looks like something related to the VS ‘cắn’ (bite).
ngựa	horse	Old Mon /kseh/, Modern Mon /kyeh/, Danaw /θé4/, Riang White /mɤraŋ\ /, Black /məraŋ\ /, Palaung /braŋ2/, Wa /bruŋ2/, Old Khmer /aseh/, Cham /àsaih/, Biat /cheh/, Bahnar /əsɛh/, Aren /kəθe/, /θiri/, /s'e/ etc., Central and S. Chin. /si/, /se, /ksʿɛ/, T'eng /mbraŋ/, Lemet /mraŋ/, Old Burmese /mraŋ/.)	午 wǔ (SV ngọ, VS ngựa) | M 午 wǔ < MC ŋɔ < OC *ŋa:ʔ | Wiktionary: Etymologically, Norman (1985) proposed connection with Austroasiatic; Ferlus (2013) noted a '[g]ood correspondence' between Proto-Vietic *m-ŋəːʔ (whence Vietnamese ngựa) and Old Chinese reconstructions like *m-qʰˁaʔ (Baxter-Sagart) and *ᵀs.ŋaʔ (Ferlus). Also compare Proto-Hlai *hŋaːʔ (“horse”), Proto-Kra *ŋja C (“horse”). Alternatively, Smith (2011) proposed 午 (OC *ŋaːʔ)'s cognacy with 啎 (OC *ŋaːs) 'to meet head on' and 御 (OC *ŋas) 'to meet in (battle)' and suggested that ''the moon at its full phase opposes the sun directly in the sky, meaning *ŋaaʔ 午 is probably to be glossed, given *-ʔ , ‘facing stage’''. Schuessler (2007) regarded 午 (OC ŋâh) 'to go against' as a mere graphic variant of 啎 and thus deemed the sense 'to go against' distinct from the 'earthly branch' sense.	****For VS 'ngựa', 午 wǔ (SV 'ngọ') is much more plausible since it is in line with other forms that is placed as the 7th animal in the list of the 12 animal zodiac table. The other forms appear only in the forms with initial /mbr-/, /mr-/, /br-/ and finals as /-aŋ/ as in Chin. 馬 mǎ (SV mã) < MC ma < OC *mra:ʔ; otherwise, 'ngựa' and 馬 mă are not cognates.
ngáp	yawn	Viet. /ngáp/, no Old Mon, mod. /kʿa-āp/, Raing White /ŋɑp-/, /hɑp-/, Palaung /pʿɛ`m2ñɑ’u2/, Wa /ŋɑp3/, Khmer /sŋāp/, Malay /kuap/, Nicobarese /hiŋ-âp/, Biat /nʾgap/, Bahnar /hā-ap/, /gəŋɑp/,, T’eng /hŋɑp/, Khasi /saham/, Mundari /cahabʔ/, /cābr/.	哈 hā (SV cáp, VS ngáp) | Dialect: Beijing: (contraction of) | M 哈欠 hāqiān (SV cápkhiếm) > VS 'ngáp' <~ M 哈欠 hāqiān | M 哈 (呷) hā, hă, hà, kā, hē, shà < MC ŋop < OC *ŋɡuːb	****All forms are cognate, interestingly, including that of Chinese. (2)
nghệ	turmeric	Curcama) (No Old Mon, mod. /mit/, Danaw /kʿămət2/, Riang White /rɤmit\ /, Black /rəmit\ /, Srê /rəmit/, Mnong Gar /rmut/	艾 ài, yì (SV nghệ, ngải) | M 艾 ài, yì < MC ŋɨaj < OC *ŋads, *ŋaːds	*****There is no doubt that both the Chinese and Vietnamese forms are cognate, but 艾 yì (SV nghệ) might not be native in ancient China.
nai	barking deer	No Old Mon, mod. pah/, Danaw /pɤt3/, Riang White and Black /pos-/...	鹿 lù (SV lộc, VS nai) | M 鹿 lù < MC ləwk < OC *b·roːɡ | Etymology: From Proto-Vietic *k-ɗeː. Cognate with Muong đai and Arem kadeː. Alternative forms: (North Central Vietnam) nây	*Other forms are omitted here since they  do not seem to be related to that of Vietnamese 'nai'. In the meanwhile, 鹿 lù (SV lộc) is possibly a good candidate .
mới	new	Viet. /mới/, Old Mon /tumi/, Modern Mon /tami/, Danaw /kʿɛ`ʔ4/, Riang White /tɤn\méʔ\ /, Black /tən\méʔ\, Palaung /kămɑ’i2/, Wa /kʿrɑuʔ1/, Old Khmer /tmī/, Sakai /bei, /pâi/, Besisi /ʾmpai/, Biat /mʾhe/, Srê /tərɛ/, M’nong, Gar /mhei/, P’u-man /u-hmui/, T’eng /hmé/, Khasi /thymmai/	萌 méng (SV manh, VS mới, mầm, măng) | M 萌 méng, míng < MC məɨjŋ < OC *mre:ŋ | Etymology: Viet. 'mới' < Proto-Austro-Asiatic: pɤj,, Proto-Vietic: *bʔǝ:jʔ, Proto-Aslian: *pa:j, Proto-Vietmuong: *bʔǝ:jʔ, Tum: bǝɨj.212 | Wiktionary: Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *mreːŋ): semantic 艹 (“grass; plant”) + phonetic 明 (OC *mraŋ). Etymologically, “to bud; to begin” Compare Lepcha ᰖᰮ (mlam, “shoots that sprout from stump of tree”) (Schuessler, 2007).“moe” Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 萌え (moe).	**The Vietnamese ‘mới’ appears cognate to those of other Mon-Khmer languages; however, 萌 (氓) méng (SV manh) could give rise to 'mới'.  Cf. VS ‘cũ’ which a confirmed cognate with the Chinese 舊 jìu (SV cựu) or ‘old’ served as a parallel to the opposite concept ‘mới’ (new), all written with the semantic 艹 (“grass; plant”).
mộng	dream	Viet. /mộng/, Old Mon /appoʾ/(?), Modern Mon /lapaʾ/, Danaw (ti:n2)pɔ1/, Riang White /(yɛ`t-)rɤmuʔ\ /, Black /(yɛ`t-)rəmuʔ\ /, Palaung /m-bɑu2/, Wa /puʔ1/, Sakai /ěmpoʾ/, Semang /ʾmpāʾ/, Malay /mimpi/, Nicobarese /enfūa/, Stieng /mboi/, Srê /mbao/, Bahar /hapō/, /apō/, T’eng /mʾpo/, Kʿmu /kamu/, Khasi /phohsniew/, Mundari /kumu/.	夢 mèng (SV mộng, VS mơ) | M 夢 mèng < MC muwŋ < OC *mɯŋ, *mɯŋs	*****Both the Vietnamese and Chinese forms are clearly cognate. At the same time, several Mon‑Khmer reflexes display parallel sound‑change patterns that suggest they too may descend from the same source, more plausibly as loanwords from Vietnamese mơ than from Luce’s proposed mộng. The essential point is that this fundamental word recurs across multiple languages and families, with the Vietnamese form mơ (an alternate of mộng) standing as a cognate within that wider network.
mối	white ant	Viet. /mối/, no Old Mon, mod. /samat/, Danaw /tɔŋ4kʿrun2/, Riang White /pruiñ\ /, /priñ\ /, Palaung /brun2/, Wa /mɔ1,3/..) Ols Khmer /samoc/ Malay /sěmut/, T'eng /hmuic/, Mundari /muiʔ/	螞 mă, mà, mā ~ phonetic M 馬 mă < MC ma < OC *mra:ʔ | Ex. 螞蟻 măyǐ ~ VS 'kiếnmối' (white ant)	**All cross-linguistic family etyma are cognate to VS 'mối' as Luce's notation. In that case VS 'kiến' is possibly cognate to either Chin. /yì/ or /xiàn/.)
mắt	eye	Viet. /mắt/, Old Mon /mɑt/, Modern Mon /mɑt/, Danaw /ŋɑi2/, Riang White /ŋɑi\ /, Black /ŋɑi\ /, Palaung /ŋɑ'i2/, /ŋɔi2/, Wa /ŋɑ'i2/, Old Kmer /mat/, Sakai /mat/, Besisi /mōt/, Semang /med/, Malay /mata/, Nicobarese /oal-mât/, T'eng /măt/ Lemei /ŋɑi/, Khasi /khmat/, War /mat/, Mundari /mẽdʔ/, Gadaba /mā/, Kurku /mẽd/	目 mù (SV mục, VS mắt) | M 目 mù < MC muwk < OC *mug | Etymology: From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *mjək. Cognate with Tibetan མིག (mig, “eye”), Burmese မျက် (myak, “eye, face”). | Dialects:  Hainanese /mat7/, Ex. (Hai.) 目鏡 /mat7kɜng5/ (VS mắtkiếng) 'eye glasses' (note the word order in both speech are the same, too.)	******All languages have the same etyma for this word! Southeast Asian linguists usually discount this word out of their list owing the close similarity among them, which may make it a mere coincidence. However, the point to be made here is this core item is cognate to the VS /mắt/.
mầy	thou	Viet. /mày/, Old Mon /beh/, Modern Mon /beh/, Danaw /mɤʔ1/, Riang White /mɪʔ\ /, Black /mɪʔ\ /, Palaung /méɪ2/, Wa /mɑɪʔ3/, Semang /pāy/, /meh/, Nicobarese /mẽ/, T'eng /mé/, Khasi /mé/, Mundari /am/, /me/	你 nǐ (SV ni, VS mầy, mi, ngươi) | M 你 (伱) nǐ (ni, nhĩ) < MC ɳɨ < OC *nɯʔ | Note: Actually there are several other forms such as 弥, 彌 mí, 爾 ér, 汝 rú, etc. all point to elevated modern second singular personal pronoun 你 nǐ ~ 'mày, mày, mi...' in Vietnamese.	***Though there is no doubt that there are cognates among listed languages in this item, the cross linguistic family similarity makes one wonder if they are the same cases as those of pa, ma, mat, mom, etc.? Cf. 弥 mí, mǐ, yì (SV mệ, mạ)
mười	ten	(None applicable)	十 shí (SV thập, VS mười, mươi) | M 十 shí < MC dʑip < OC *ɡjub | From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sV-ɢip. For Viet. 'mười', from Proto-Vietic *maːl, doublet of mươi. Let's associate the lexeme with '一十 yīshí​ (SV nhấtthập, VS mộtchục)' whereas 十 shí ~ 'mươi' {/-wj/ arises from the clipping of the initial /ch-/ (VS 'chục') then adds /m-/ to /-wk/ <~ '一十 yī (SV nhất).' Hence 'mộtchục' 一十 yīshí ​(SV nhấtthập) gives rise to VS 'mười'. For the interchange ¶ /ch- ~ m-/, cf. 吵 chăo, miāo < MC miaw, tʂʰaɨw < OC *sm̥ʰreːwʔ, *mewʔ, 'chùachiềng' ~ 寺廟 sìmiào (SV tựmiếu) whereas廟 miào is posited as a duplicative 'chiềng'.	*It appears that nothing looks alike here in all languages involved. For Chin. 十 shí (SV thập) we have 'chục' in Vietnamese while 'mười' is highly speculative just like the other cases of 'four', 'five', 'seven', and 'eight'.
mưa	rain	Viet. /mưa/, Old Mon /brey/, /gūr/, Modern Mon /brai/, /gū/, Danaw /kălé1/, Riang White /tjuŋ\ /, /klɛ-/, Black /tsuŋ\ /, /klɛ-/, Palaung /klɑ'i2/, /klɔ'i2/, Wa /lɛ`ʔ3préiʔ1/, Sakai /maniʾ/, Semang /mī/, Nicobarese /amīh/, Srê /miu/, Bahnar, Stieng /mi/, T'eng /kəma/, /yur/ (v.)	雨 yǔ (SV vũ, VS mưa) | M 雨 yǔ yǔ, yù (vũ, vù) < MC ɦuə̆ < OC *ɢʷaʔ, *ɢʷaʔs | ¶ /y-(v-) ~ m-/ | § 雲 yún (SV vân, VS mây), 舞 wǔ (SV vũ, VS múa), 無 wú (SV vô, VS mô)	***Even though most of them are cognate to VS /mưa/, the Chinese form 雨 yǔ is still a strong case for its plausible pattern of sound changes /y-/ ~ /m-/.
mũi	nose	Viet. /mũi/, Old Mon /muh/, Modern Mon /muh/, Danaw /kădət3/, Riang White and Black /kədɔʔ-/, Palaung /muh3/, Wa /mɤh5/,Old Khmer /muh/, Sakai /moh/, /mūh/, T'eng /muh/, Khasi /khmut/, Mundari /mũ/, Savara /mu/, Gadaba /muvvu/, Kurku /mū/	鼻 bí (SV tỵ, VS mũi) | M 鼻 bí < MC biɪ < OC *blids | Etymologically, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *bi (“nose”); compare Nuosu ꅳꁖ (hnap bbit, “nose; snot”). In some modern lects, including Mandarin, Gan, Jin, Wu, and Xiang, and even in the literary layer of some Min dialects, the word reflects a form with final *-t. For example, in standard Mandarin, the word is pronounced bí (implying an old entering tone) instead of bì (the expected reflex from the departing tone in Middle Chinese).	*The Vietnamese /muj4/, obviously, except for the Chinese form, are cognate to all other forms. The speculation that 'mũi' and 鼻 bí are cognate is based on the posits of other body parts between the 2 languages as  the interchange of this form is either irregular or distant etymological variants which share only their labial phoneme which of the Vietnamese lexeme is nasalized via /pt-/ demonstrated by the SV /tej6/ 'ty.' < /ptej/ ~ /mej4/ ~ /muj4/.
măng	edible bamboo shoots	Viet. /măng/, Old Mon /tbaŋ/, Modern Mon /tɓaŋ/, Danaw /tu1bôŋ4/, Riang White /kɤtjoʔ\ /, Black /kətsoʔ\ /, Palaung /bɑŋ2/, Wa /sɑɯ1/, Khmer /dambaŋ/, Sakai /rêbôk/, Besisi /lemboŋ/, Samang /abboŋ/, Malay /rêboŋ/, Bahnar /təbaŋ/, Srê /ɓan/	萌 méng (SV manh, VS mới, mầm, măng) | M 萌 méng, míng < MC məɨjŋ < OC *mre:ŋ | Etymology: Viet. 'mới' < Proto-Austro-Asiatic: pɤj,, Proto-Vietic: *bʔǝ:jʔ, Proto-Aslian: *pa:j, Proto-Vietmuong: *bʔǝ:jʔ, Tum: bǝɨj.212 | Wiktionary: Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *mreːŋ): semantic 艹 (“grass; plant”) + phonetic 明 (OC *mraŋ). Etymologically, “to bud; to begin” Compare Lepcha ᰖᰮ (mlam, “shoots that sprout from stump of tree”) (Schuessler, 2007).“moe” Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 萌え (moe). According to Starostin, 萌 bud, young shoot, to sprout (Late Zhou). Reconstruction *m(h)rǝ̄ŋ is also possible (hsiehsheng would suggest *m(h)rāŋ, but in this case the MC form would be irregular). Regular Sino-Viet. is manh; another loan from the same source is possibly Viet. mống 'bud, germ'. Meanwhile, M 秧 yāng < MC ʔɨaŋ < OC *qaŋ, *qaŋʔ | According to Starostin, 秧 young shoots, seedlings (Tang) | Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *bʔaŋ, Proto-Katuic: *bʔaŋ, Proto-Bahnaric: *bʔaŋ, Khmer: lǝmbɔŋ, Proto-Vietic: *ʔp-Proto-Viet-Muong: *ʔbaŋ, t-, #, Muong dialect: păŋ.1, Arem: ʔabaŋ ,Proto-Ruc: *baŋ.1, t-, Ruc (Russian field rec.): taʔbaŋ.1, Ruc tabaŋ.1, Thavung-So: baŋ.1	***Except for a few languages, all others appear to be cognate, including both Chinese forms. Meanwhile, the modern Chinese for 'bamboo shoots' is 竹筍 zhúsǔn and 萌 méng 'young shoot' commonly appear in the compound 萌芽 méngyá with SV 'manhnha' (young bud) while 芽 yá, plausibly a basic word, is cognate to V 'giá' meaning 'young sprouts'; also, 萌 méng could be cognate to 'mới' (new).
móng	nails	Old Mon /sinlem/, Modern Mon /sanem/, Danaw /kălɛ`əŋ4/, Riang White /rəm\hi:m-/, Black /kʿiəŋ2/, /pʿyUəŋ2/, Wa /să\ʔ, Shom Peng /rīap/, Khasi /tyrsim/	跰 bèng, bǐng, pián (SV nghiễn, VS vuốt 'claw' ~> móng 'nail' | ¶ /b- ~ m-/ | M 跰 (趼) pián, bèng, bǐng < MC bɛn, paɨjŋ < OC *be:n, *preŋs | According to Starostin, Pek. yàn meaning 'extremity of animals' paw' is also attested since Han; it accounts for g- in Go-on. | ¶ /y-/ ~ /ng-/, /m-/, and /v-/, and ¶ /j-/ ~ /ng-/, i.e., VS 'ngón' (finger, toe)	*Except for the Chinese word and the derived Vietnamese 'ngón', all other         forms look distant and need more elaboration.
mía	sugarcane, molasses	Viet. /mía/, Old Mon /tbow/, /tanglāy/, Modern Mon /taŋglāai/, Danaw /tɔŋ1nɑi2/, Riang White /tɑm-lɑi\ /, Black /tam-lɑi\ /, Palaung /nɑm3mɑ'ì/, /-mɔi2/, Wa /me2/, /ñɔm4ɔ'i2/, Malay /těbu/, Nicobarese /poh/ T'eng /kəlmé/, Khasi /paɪ/	蔗 zhè (SV giá, VS mía) | M 蔗 zhè < MC tjaːɡs < OC *tjaːɡs || Etymologically,  Muong /mỉa/ ~ Proto-Khmuic /*klme₁ʔ/ ~ Proto-Vietic /*k-mɛːʔ/ ~ Proto-Mon-Khmer *klmiəʔ. Cognate with Muong mỉa, Khmu klmeʔ and Eastern Lawa อเมะ, อมา-อิ, อแมะ.	*Sugarcane used to be native in South China and the V /mía/ looks like agreeable to some Mon-Khmer forms in Luce's list. Meanwhile, the sound change patterns in the Chinese form also suggest some correspondences since this may be a loanword in Chinese.
mình	we (exclusive)	Old Mon /poy/, Modern Mon /puiai/	M 咱們 zánměn (SV tamôn, VS chúngmình ~ > VS mình | M 們 mén, men < MC mon < OC *mjə:n	****Other Luce's listed cognates do not sound anything like 'mình' or 'chúngmình' at all.
mè	sesamum, sesame	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /daŋnau/, /laŋau/, Danaw /lɔŋ2ŋɑʔ4/, Riang White /lɤŋɑʔ\ /, /lək\ŋɑʔ\ /, Palaung /răŋɑ2/, Wa /ŋyéʔ3/, /ŋɛ`2/, /ŋɑʔ3/, Old Knhmer /lŋo/, Malay /ləŋa/, Biat /rʾŋa/ Shan /ŋā	麻 má (SV ma) | M 蔴 (麻) mā, má ~ M 麻 má < MC ma < OC * mhra:j | For 麻 má, according to Starostin 'hemp' (Cannabis sativa), standard Sino-Viet. is ma. For *mh- cf. Shaowu mai7.	******Viet and Chinese forms are clearly cognate with no relation to other languages.
máu	blood	Old Mon /chim/, Modern Mon /chim/, Danaw /kănɑ4/, Riang White /nɑ:m-/, Black /nɑm-/, Palaung /nɑm2/, Wa /hnɑm2/, Khmer /jhām/, Sakai /běhīm/,Semang /muhum/, Car Nicarobese /măham/, Bahar /pham/, T'eng /mam/, K'mu /semắm/, Khasi /smam/ Mundari /maěon/	M 衁  huāng (SV hoang, VS máu) | M 衁 huāng, nǜ < MC hwaŋ < OC *hmaːŋ | While the modern Chin. 血 xiě, xuè (SV huyết, VS 'tiết' as in 'tiếtcanh' 血羹 xiěgēng), there exists the word 衁 huāng where it carries the phonetic stem M 亡 wáng (SV vong, vô) < MC mwaŋ < OC *maŋ | Kangxi: 《康熙字典·血部·三》衁：《唐韻》《集韻》《正韻》𠀤呼光切，音荒。《說文》血也。《左傳·僖十五年》士刲羊，亦無衁也。《韓愈詩》衁池波風肉陵屯。| Wiktionary: Etymologically, borrowed from Austroasiatic; compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟhaam ~ *ɟhiim (“blood”), whence Khmer ឈាម (chiəm, “blood”), Mon ဆီ (chim, “blood”), Proto-Bahnaric *bhaːm (“blood”), Proto-Katuic *ʔahaam (“blood”), Proto-Khmuic *maː₁m (“blood”). Chinese has final -ŋ because initial and final m are mutually exclusive (Schuessler, 2003; Schuessler, 2007).	****It appears that the V 'máu' /maw5/ points to other etyma in other languages cross linguistic families, starting with /m-/ and /p-/ while the Chinese form 血 /xuè/ is speculative via @ /hw-/ ~ /m-/ of 衁 huáng 'blood'. The Austroasiatic cognate might have evolved from some common Taic root, so did variants of proto-Chinese and Old Chinese. Etymologically, per Nicholas C. Bodman (1980) 'Proto-Chinese and Sino-Tibetan,' (in Frans Van Coetsem et al. (eds.) Contributions to Historical Linguistics) (p.120) : 'An interesting hapax legomenon for 'blood' appears in the Dzo Zhuan which has an obvious Austroasiatic origin: Proto-Mnong *mham, Proto-North Bahmaric *maham, 衁 hmam > hmang > ɣuáng.'This word's rare occurrence in a traditional saying indicates that it is not part of the active vocabulary of OC, but a survival from a substrate language.
mác	sword, long dah	Old Mon /snāk/, /snek/, Modern Mon /mra/, Danaw /vwiɛ`k4/, /nɛ`k3/ (knife), Riang White and Black /vwɑk\ /, Palaung /bUt1/ (=dah), Wa /vwɑie5/, Old Khmer /pranāk/, Old Burmese /sanlyak/, S. Karen /naʔ/, Khasi /wait (=dah), /waitlam/ (sword)	矛 máo (SV mâu, VS mác) | M 矛 máo < MC miəu < OC *mu |	****Except for the Mon and Danaw lexemes, the labial vocalism of most of these forms can only point to the Viet. /m-/ for 'mác' (spear), which could be speculative.
má, mẹ	mother	Old Mon /ambo/, /aboʾ/, Modern Mon /bo/, Danaw /mɑɪʔ3/, Riang White /marʾ/, Black /maʔ/, Palaung /mɑ2/, Wa /meʔ3/, /maʔ3/	母 mǔ (SV mẫu, mô, VS mẹ, mợ, vú, u) | M 母 mǔ, mú, wǔ, wú (mẫu, mô) < MC məw < OC *mɯʔ || Wiktionary:  Alternative forms (North Central Vietnam) mệ (minced oath) moẹ, moé, mịa Etymologically, from Proto-Vietic *meːʔ ~ *mɛːʔ; from Proto-Austroasiatic *meʔ (“mother”). Cognate with Bahnar mĕ, Khmer ម៉ែ (mae), Mon မိ (mìˀ), Khasi mei. Ultimately a nursery word, compare Old Chinese 母 (*mɯʔ) and Proto-Tai *meːᴮ (whence Thai แม่ (mɛ̂ɛ)). Doublet of mái.	******Like 'bố' being cognate to 父 fù, Chinese 母 mǔ and V 'mẹ' are clearly of the same source.
muốn	want, desire	Old Mon /mic/, Modern Mon /mik (gwaʾ)/, Danaw /tsʿɔŋ4/, Riang White and Black /sʿun-/, Palaung /sɤŋ2/, Wa /yUh5/, Bahnar /mɛt/, /kəmɛt/.	願 yuàn (SV nguyện, VS muốn) | M 願 (愿) yuán < MC ŋuan < OC *ŋʷans | Note: VS 'muốn' is posited here based on its semantic connot ation accompanied with the pattern¶ /y- ~ m-/	**While some other Mon-Khmer forms are cognate to each other and VS /mót/ (<~ 'muốn') as in 'mótđái' (urged to pee), the Chinese form 願 yuàn may or may not be cognate to the VS /muốn/ that appears to be derived from other Chinese sources as well, such as 願望 yuànwàng ~> VS 'mongmuốn' > 望 wàng (VS 'mong') > 'muốn', or modern Mandarin 想 xiăng.
muối	salt	Viet. /muối/, no Old Mon, Modern Mon /ɓuiw/, Danaw /tsʿɑ4/, Riang White and Black /sʿuɑk-/, Palaung /sɛ`1/, Wa /ki:h5/, Old Burmese /cʿɑ/ (salt), /jawak cʿɑ/ (sal ammoniac), Semang /siak/, Selung /selak, Lemet /siak/, Old Khmer /ampel/, Sakai /mʾpoit/, Semang /empoyd/, Stieng /bǒh/, Srê /boh/, Bahnar /bɔh/, Lemet /pelu/, Khasi /mlun/, Mundari /buluŋ/	硭 máng  (SV vong, VS muối) | M 硭 máng < MC mʷiɐŋ < OC *maŋ	****Most of the forms in other language are cognate to the Vietnamese 'muối' of which the Chin. 硭 máng means "unprocessed salt" -- cf. 忙 máng ~ VS 'mắc' (busy), 衁 huáng ~ VS 'máu' (blood) -- while there is another Chinese form 硝 xiāo (saltpeter) is closer to those words start with the nitials /s-/.
mui	ladle (wooden)	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /yăk/, Danaw /lah2/, Riang White and Black /lɑk-/, Palaung /lɑʔ1/, Wa /lɔk4duh5/, Old Khmer /hvek/	舀 yǎo (SV giáo, VS muỗng, muôi, mui, môi | M 舀 yǎo < MC jiaw, juw, juə̆ < OC *lo, *lu, *lowʔ | ¶ /y- ~ m-/.	***It is interesting to see that the Modern Mon form reflects /yăk/ to match closely with the Chin. /yǎo/.
mo	witch, wizard	Mon mod. /bamuai/, Danaw .../pʿriʔ3/, Riang White and Black .../pʿrɛʔ3\ /, Palaung /bréi2/, T'eng /mòhrói/	巫 wū | M  巫 wū, wú < MC muə̆ < OC *ma || Example:  巫師 wūshī (VS 'thầymo', 'phùthuỷ')	******'thầymo' and 'phùthuỷ' are a sure cognate with the Chinese word 巫師 wūshī. Based on their forms we could posit 'phùthuỷ' a later development from early M /wūshī/ or a dialectal form.
me	tamarind	Old Mon /maŋglañ/, /maŋgleñ/, Modern Mon /maŋ glan/, Danaw /maŋ4kléŋ2/, Riang White /maŋ\klɛ`ŋ\/, Black /maŋ\klɛ`əŋ\ /, Palaung /mákaŋ2/, Wa /(pléʔ1)pʿak1/, Old Burmese /maŋklañ/, Shan /makkiŋ/	梅 méi (SV mai, VS muội, me, mơ, mận) | M 梅 (楳) méi < MC moj < OC *mɯː | Etymologically, per Starostin: Japanese apricot (Prunus mume), plum. Viet. me has a narrowed meaning 'tamarind' (cf. Chin. 酸梅 'tamarind', lit. 'sour plum'). An older loanword is probably Viet. mơ 'apricot'. The regular Sino-Viet. reading is mai. For *m- cf. Min forms: Xiamen m2, Chaozhou bue2, Fuzhou muoi2, Jianou mo2. Ex. 酸梅 suānméi (mechua) ~> me (Tamarindus indica), 梅花 (VS hoamai, 'red avadavat'), 鹹梅 xiánméi (VS xímuội, 'salted dried plum')	***Tamarind trees can only found in tropical regions close to the southern hemisphere, but somehow the Vietnamese form me ('tamarind)'seems to be derived from the word 梅 (méi , SV mai) that still used denote other things, and somehow, phonologically and etymologically Vietnamese cognates though, like 'mận' (plum), 'dâu' (berry), 'mai' (Japanese plum blossom), a kind of flower that appear on the Hong Kong's flag and it is used an emblem of the Taiwan's Airlines.
lửa	fire	Old Mon /pumat/, Modern Mon /pumat/, /ñɔn4/, Riang White and Black /ŋal\ /, Palaung /ŋɑ'i2/, /ŋɔ2/, Wa /ŋu2/, Nicobarese /heōe/, Lemet /ŋal/ Mundari /seŋgel/, Gadaba /suōl/, Kurku /siŋgēl/	火 huǒ (SV hoả, VS lửa) | M 火 huǒ, huō < MC hwa < OC *qʰʷaːlʔ | Etymology: per Starostin, Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *lɨǝ, Proto-Pearic: *le:w.N, Proto-Palaungic: Pr laɨh, Proto-Khmu: *(l)ɨa, Thomon: la.4, (Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *lVŋ 'burn', Khmer: bhlaǝŋ, Proto-Monic: M slaoŋ, Proto-Palaungic: Pr lɨiŋ, glɨiŋ.B, Khasi: iŋ burn; Khmer: bhlaǝŋ)	***The Chinese 火 huǒ and VS /lửa/ look like the only cognates here, but don't tell us the Chinese borrow 'fire' from Austroasiatic! Why don't we associate all other listed etyma with VS /ngọn/, meaning 'tongue (of the flames)'.
lụa	silk	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /sut/, Danaw /kătuʔ2/, Riang White /sʿɤtuʔ\ /, Black /sʿətuʔ/, Palaung /ɗéu2/, Wa /tɑ'əʔ1/	綢 chóu (SV trù, thao, VS lụa) ~ 縷 lǚ (SV lũ, lâu, VS lụa) | (1) M 綢 (紬) chóu, tāo, diào < MC tʰaw, ɖuw < OC *tʰuːw, *dɯw || M 縷 lǚ, lóu, lǔ (lâu, lũ) < MC luə̆ < OC *roʔ | According to Starostin: silk thread (L.Zhou). Viet. lụa is a colloquial loan (probably of Late Han time); regular Sino-Viet. is lũ.	****The Mon /sut/ looks like a cognate with the VS 'lụa' and others like VS         'tơlụa'; however, all point to the Chin. 綢 /chóu/ for VS 'lụa' and 絲綢 /sīchóu/ for 'tơlụa'.
lợn	pig	No Old Mon., mod. /lamlen/, Danaw /tɔŋ2kiɛ`t1/, Riang White /rɤn\kɔs-/, Black /rəŋ\kɔs-/, Palaung /ākɤh3/, Wa /ŋ-goh3/, Sakai /kūsh/...)	豘 tún (SV đồn, độn, VS lợn) |  M 豚 (豘) tún, dūn < MC dwən < OC *duːn | Dialects Cant. tyun4, Hakke tun3 | /¶ t- ~ l-/ | Wiktionary, etymologically, 'domestic pig'. Wang (1982) derives 豚 (OC *lˁunʔ) from 腯 (OC *lˁut). Its is probably related to: 彖 (OC *l̥ʰoːns, “running pig”) and 貒 (OC *tʰoːn, “hog badger”), inside Chinese (Schuessler, 2007); and Proto-Mien *duŋᴮ (“pig”) (Sagart, 1999; Schuessler, 2007; Ratliff, 2010). Starostin: Viet. 'lợn' is an archaic loanword; regular Sino-Viet. is đồn. For *Łh- cf. Xiamen thun2, Chaozhou thuŋ2, Fuzhou thoŋ2.	****For those Mon-Khmer forms selectively listed here, they bear resemblance to each other as cognates among themselves. At the same time the Chin. /tún/ cognate is highly plausible with the sound change pattern ¶/t- ~ l-/ for VS /lợn/. At the same time Vietnamese has also the word 'heo' (pig) which is from the same source as that of the Chinese 亥 hài (SV 'hợi') as it appears in the 12 animal zodiac table as also discussed in "heo" (pig), "trâu" (water bufallo", and "ngựa" (horse).
lỗ	hole, aperture	Old Mon /srūŋ/, Modern Mon /sruiŋ/, Danaw /kătu1/, /tu1/, Riang White /lu\ /, Black /lu\ /, /tuʔ-/, Palaung /kăɗéu2/, Wa /n dɑɯʔ3/, T'eng /həntu/	窿 lóng (SV lung, VS lỗ) | M 窿 lóng < MC luwŋ < OC *ɡ·ruːŋ | Wiktionary: Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ɡ·ruːŋ): semantic 穴 + phonetic 隆 (OC *ɡ·ruːŋ). Etymologically, STEDT derives it from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kru:ŋ (“cage”). For more see 籠 (OC *roːŋ, *roːŋʔ, *roŋ)	**Is the Chinese form /lóng/ is plausibly cognate to the V 'lỗ' along side of some other Austroasiatic forms or could it be a 瀆 dóu?
lặn	to set (with the sun)	Old Mon /plit/, Modern Mon /pluit/, Danaw /kɔt2/, Riang White /kɤt-/, Black White /kət-/, /kut\/ (to enter), T’eng /gut/ (to enter).	落 luò (SV lạc, VS lặn) | M 落 luò, lè, luō, lào, là < MC lak < OC *gra:g | ¶ /-k ~ -n/-ng/, Ex. 腹 fú ~ SV 'phúc' /-k/ ~> VS 'bụng' /-ng/ (belly), 忙 máng /-ng/ ~ VS 'bận' /-n/ ~> 'mắc' /-k/ (busy) | Ex. 日落 rìluò (SV nhậtlạc) ~ VS 'trờilặn' (sunset)	****Only the Mon forms are cognate to the VS /lặn/ while the Chinese form for this item point to /luò/. (2)
lấy	get	Old Mon /goʾ/, Modern Mon /gwaʾ/, Danaw /byɛ`n4/, Riang White and Black /bɔn-/, Palaung /bɤn2/, Wa /bɔn2/, T’eng /buɔ`n/, Khasi /io/.	拿 ná (SV nã, VS lấy) | M QT 拿 (拏) ná < MC ɳɯa < OC *rna: | Dialects: Nanchang lak41, Hakka : na11, Cant. na12, naa4, laa4 (colloquial: /lɔ12/)	****The strange thing is the Mon and Khasi forms do not seem to be cognate to any other etyma in this limited list for the item while the Chin.  /ná/ and the VS /lấy/, which are cognates, do not look like having anything to do with any other Mon-Khmer forms. (1)
lưỡi	tongue	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /lātɑk/, Danaw /tɔŋ2tɑʔ1/, Riang White /tak-/, Black /tɑk-/, Palaung /săɗɑʔ1/, Wa /n-dak3/, Khmer /antāk/, Sakai /ləntāk/, Semang /letic/, Maly /lidah/, Nicobarese /kaletâk/, T'eng /həntak/, Mundari /leʔ/, /alaŋ/	舌 shé (SV thiệt, hoạt, VS lưỡi) | M 舌 shé, guā, jī < MC ʑet, ɦwaɨt < OC *lat, *ɡroːd, *ɦbljed | According to Starostin: Protoform *lăj(H) ( / *lăt;t; m-). Meaning: tongue. Chinese: 舐 *lajʔ, *leʔ to lick; 舌 *lat tongue. Tibetan: ltɕe tongue; blade; flame. Burmese: hlja tongue, LB *s-lja. Kachin: siŋlet2 the tongue, (H) lai id. Lushei: lei tongue, KC *m-lei. Lepcha: li/, a-li/ the tongue.	***As we can see, the Chinese form points to a much more credible etymon which is cognate to those in the Sino-Tibetan camp. See more details in the chapter on Sino-Tibetan etymologies. Besides, Cantonese still retains the ancient form as /lei6/ 脷 lěi (SV lợi), cf. 舐 *lajʔ ~ VS 'liếm'.
lúa	paddy	Old Mon and modern /sroʾ/, Danaw /bɑ1/, Siang White /ŋUʔ-/, Black /ŋoʔ-/, Palaung /hŋɑ'2/, Wa /ŋoʔ3/, Khasi /kba/, Mundari /baba/, Old Burmese /capā/, Old Khmer /srū/	來 lái (SV lai, VS lúa) | M 來 lái, lài, lāi (lai, lãi) < MC ləj < OC *mrɯːɡ | Wiktionary: The character 來, now widely interpreted as 'to come', originated as a pictogram (象形) depicting wheat. Its ancestral forms include 麥 (OC *mrɯːɡ, 'wheat') and 麳 (OC *rɯː, 'wheat').	***While Starostin cited this etymon as 稻 dào for 'lúa', other forms in other Austroasiatic languages do not appear to be close the Chinese and Vietnamese forms, i.e., 來 lái and 'lúa'. The 稻 dào ('lúa') is supposedly a loanword in Chinese.
lãng	deaf	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /sɗuiŋ/, Danaw /klət3,1/, Riang White /lu:t-/, Black /lut-/, Palaung /lUt1/, Wa /lət3/, T'eng /səlut/, Khasi /kyllut/	聾 lóng (SV lung, VS lãng) | M 聾 lóng < MC ləwŋ < OC *ro:ŋ | Ex. 耳聾 ěrlóng ~ VS lãngtai ('hearing-impaired')	****All the forms with the vocalism /l-/ appear loosely cognate to the Vietnamese form 'lãng' derived from the Chin. 聾 lóng except for the Modern Mon as /sɗuiŋ/ which somewhat resembles V 'điếc' <~ VS 'điếctai' 失聰 shīcōng ~ SV 'thấtthông' (deaf).
lâu	long (of time)	Old Mon /loʾ/, Modern Mon /lɑʾ/, Danaw /kʿămɛ` ʔ4/, Riang White /tjɤn\nɔʔ\ /, Black /tsən\nɔʔ\	久 jǐu (SV cửu, VS lâu) | M 久 jǐu < MC kuw < OC *kʷlɯʔ | Dialect: Cant. /gau2/, colloquial /loj2/ or /nɔj2/	***While there is absence of other lexicons in the Mon-Khmer languages, the Mon forms represent what appears to be cognate to VS /lâu/, including that of the Cant. form as /nɔj2/ which can be related to the Chinese form as /jǐu/ in Mandarin.
lá	leaf	Viet. /lá/, Old Mon /sla/, Modern Mon /sla/, Danaw /lɑ1/, Riang White and Black /laʔ-/, Palaung /hlɑ2/, Wa /laʔ3/, Old Khmer /slik/, Sakai /sělâk/, Nicobarese /dai/, /rai/, Biat /nʾha/, Bahnar /hla/, P'u-man /hla/, T'eng /hlaʔ/, Khasi /sla/, Mundari /araʔ/ (edible leaf	葉 yè (SV diệp) | M 葉 yè, dié, shè, xiè < MC jiap, ɕiap < OC *leb, *hljeb  | ¶ /y- ~ l-/ | According to Starostin: Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *la, Proto-Katuic: *la, Proto-Bahnaric: *la, Khmer: sla:, Proto-Pearic: *laʔ.N, Proto-Vietic: *laʔ, s-, Proto-Monic: *la:ʔ, Proto-Palaungic: *laʔ, Proto-Khmu: *laʔ, Khasi: sla-diŋ, Proto-Aslian: *sǝlaʔ, Proto-Viet-Muong: *laʔ, ʔ-, Thomon: la.343ʔ, Tum: la.212 | Tibetan languages: ldeb lá, tờ, Burmese: ɑhlap cánhhoa., Kachin: lap2 lá, Lushei: le:p búp, Lepcha: lop lá, Rawang ʂɑ lap lá (cuốn bánh) ; Trung ljəp1 lá, Bahing lab. Sh. 138; Ben. 70.	****In addition the obvious cognates among those listed Mon-Khmer lexicons, the VS 'lá' also shows etymological similarity with the 葉 yè, especially with its ancient sounds.
liềm	sickle	No Old Mon form, mod. /not/, Danaw /tɔŋ2tsén4/, Riang White /tɤn\tjan\ /kə\tsan\ /, Wa /ʃívwɔk3/	鐮 lián (SV liêm), VS liềm | M 鐮 (鎌) < MC liam < OC *ɡ·rem	*****If this word is actually meant 'sickle' then only the Vietnamese and Chinese words are etymologicially related or cognates, to be exact.
liếm	lick	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /klān/, Danaw /kăliɛ`t3/, Riang White /lia\ /, Black /liɛ`t\ /, Palaung /lɛ`t/, /lɑ’ʔ1/, Wa / liɛ`t3/, Khmer /līt/, Besisi /tělön/, Nicobarese /tulân/, Malay /jilat/, Khasi /jliah/.	舔 tiăn (SV thiêm, VS liếm) | M 舔 tiăn < MC t’iem < OC *slem | According to Starostin, 舔 tiăn, to lick (Tang), Viet. 'liếm' must be an archaic loan (unless it is a chance coincidence); standard Sino-Viet. is thiêm. | Note: Zhou (zyxlj, p.250) MC t’iem < OC *t’ijəm < PC*lijəm, *liem. Dialaect Guangzhou (Cant.): li-m, TB *(s-)lyjəm ‘tongue’	*****It is interesting so see that most of the listed forms are cognate to each other, including the Chinese one. (1)
kiệu	leeks	No Mon forms, Danaw /kʿnuʔ1/, Riang White /..kʿyu-/, Black /cʿu-/, Palaung /(ɗéu2)kau4/	韭 (韮) jǐu (SV cựu, VS kiệu) | M 韭 (韮) jǐu < MC kuw < OC *kruʔ | ¶ /j- ~ k-, h-/ | Ex. 韭菜jǐucài (VS rauhẹ) | Wiktionary: Pictogram (象形) – leek in the ground (一). Unrelated to 非. Etymologically, cognate to Tibetan སྒོག་པ (sgog pa, “garlic, leek”) and Japhug ɕku (“onion”) (Zhang, Jacques & Lai 2019). One can reconstruct Proto-Sino-Tibetan *skuq to cover these words.	****All forms listed here point to Chin. /jǐu/, which shows the same origin. The question is from which language these etyma have originated?
kim	needle	Old Mon /tinliñ/, /tinleñ/, Modern Mon /taniŋ/, Danaw /tăkaʔ3/, Riang White /pɤl\ŋyéʔ/, /pən\lɑic\ /, Palaung /rɤ2/, Wa /rɤ/, Sakai /tenlait/, /penlaig/ (blowpipe dart), Biat /ŋʾlai/, T'eng /səkăm/	箴 zhēn (SV châm,VS kim) ~ 針 zhēn (SV châm,VS kim, 'needle') | (1) M 針 (鍼, 箴) zhēn < MC tɕim < OC *kjum, *kjums || (2) arrow: M 箭 jiàn < MC tsiɛn < OC *ʔslens	****The vocalic /t-/ in some form points to VS /tên/ while only the T'eng /səkăm/ is similar to the V /kim/. In both cases the Vietnamese etyma are derived from those of Chinese.
khóc	mourn, cry	Old Mon /yām/, Modern Mon /yām/, Danaw /ñɑn2/, Riang White and Black /yɑm\ /, Palaung /yɑm2/, /yɪm2/, Old Khmer /yām/, Sakai /yabm/, Besisi /yām/, Semang /jām/, /jim/, Nicobarese /chīm/, Stieng, Srê /ñim/, Biat /ñim/, Bahar /ñem/, /ñum/, Pʿu-man /yaŋ/, T’eng /yam/, Lemet /yām/, K’mu /yâm/, Khasi /tām/, Mundari /iam/, Kurku /yam/.	免 wèn (SV vấn), 哭 kù (SV khốc, VS khóc) | M 免 miăn, wèn (SV miễn, vấn) < MC mian < OC *mronʔ  || M 哭 kū < MC kʰəwk < OC *ŋ̥ʰoːɡ || M QT 泣 qì < MC kʰɯip < OC *kʰrɯb | FQ 去急 (SV 'khấp')	******While the VS ‘khóc’ can be a word to mean both ‘to mourn' and 'cry’ which is cognate to both C 泣 qì (SV khấp) and 哭 kù (SV khốc) respectively, the other Vietnamese form 免 wèn (SV vấn 'mourning headdress') seems to fit well into the Mon-Khmer vocables similar to /yam/. (4)
khuya	midnight	Old Mon /sgāl tney/, Modern Mon /sagā iai/, Danaw /chen4tsən4/, Riang White /kʿi:n-sʿɔm-/, Black /tən\kʿi:n-sʿɔm-/, Palaung /kădéi2hmɤ3/, /hmɤ3kădɑ'i2/, Wa /grəŋ4sɔm2/, Nicobarese /haròm/ (night), T'eng /pəsuòm/ (night)	午夜 wǔyè (SV ngọdạ)  | M 午 wǔ < MC ŋɔ < OC *ŋa:ʔ || M QT 夜 (亱) yè, yì < MC jia < OC *laːɡs | cf. 月 yuè ~ SV 'nguyệt' (moon) || Note: VS 'khuya' possibly derived from the contraction of '午 wǔ ~> /khw-/ + 夜 yè /-ya'/ => 'khuya'	**If solely based on the definition of 'midnight', the Vietnamese form is hardly to be cognate to any of all other forms, except for the possible contracted form of Chin. 午夜 wǔyè or even 夜 yè ~ SV 'khuya'.
keo	lac	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /krek/, /krut/, Danaw /yaŋ4kʿărék3/, Riang White /trɔit-/, Black /trɔic-/, Palaung /krɤɪʔ1/, krɔ'it1/, Mundari /êrê-ko/	蟲膠 chóngjiāo, 蟲脂 chóngzhǐ | M 膠 jiāo, háo, jiăo, jiào, năo, qiāo < MC kaɨw< OC *kʰrɯːw, *krɯːw, *krɯːws	*Semantically VS 'keo', a cognate with the Chinese form 膠 jiāo 'glue', is not exactly 'lac', but it looks like those of other forms listed by Luce for this item.
hỏi	ask	Old Mon /smāñ/, Modern Mon /smān/, Danaw /mɑi2/, Riang White and Black /mɑiñ-/, Palaung /hmɑn2/, /hmɔn2/, Wa /mɑiñ2/, Sakai /səman/, Semang /semañ/, Nocobarese /hamâ/, Bahar /apiñ/, T’eng /mañ/, K’mu /mai/ Lemet /mañ/, Khasi /pan/.	問 wèn (SV vấn, VS hỏi) | M 問 wèn < MC miun < OC *mɯns | ¶ /w- ~ h-/	***All forms are cognate. It is interesting to see that all other Mon-Khmer forms also reflect OC /*m-/ in their etyma, but the question remains whether if the Mon-Khmer forms derived from the that of the Chinese or everything is just merely coincidental.
hôi	to rot, putrid	Viet. /hôi/, no Old Mon, , Modern Mon /sa-uai/, Danaw /sʿɔŋ2ɤn4/, Riang White /kʿɤm/, Black /kʿəm-/, Palaung /am2/, Wa /tjuʔ1/, Old Khmer /sa-uy/, T’eng /həʔu/ (to smell bad), Mundari /soěa/, Srê /pəʔum/, Biat, Mnong Gar /ôm/.	臭 xìu (SV xú, VS hôi, thúi) | M 臭 chòu, xìu < MC ʨjəw < OC *khiws	*****While other Mon-Khmer forms diverge greatly, both of the Chinese and Vietnamese forms are cognate.
hòndái	testicles	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /makruik/, Danaw /tɔŋ2klot4/	M 玉丸 yùhuăn (SV ngọchoàn, VS hòndái) | M 玉 yù < MC ŋuawk < OC *ŋoɡ || QT 丸 wán < MC ɦwan < OC *ɡʷaːn	******Additional listings by Luce do not show anything similar to the VS form as 'hòndái' /hɔn2jaj6/, which is definitely from the Chinese /yùhuăn/ (SV ngọchoàn), as in numerous other lexicons, in reverse order.
há	open mouth	Viet. /há/, No Old Mon, Modern Mon /hā/, Danaw /hɑ1/, Riang White and Black /ɑŋ-/, Palaung /ɑŋ2/, Wa /ɑŋ2/, Khmer /hā/, Srê /hā/, Bahnar /ha/, Besisi /ɑŋ/, T’eng /ɑŋ/, Khasi /ang/.	哈 hā (SV cáp, ha, VS há), 開 kāi (SV khai) | M 哈 (呷) hā, hă, hà, kā, hē, shà < MC ŋop < OC *ŋɡuːb || M 開 kāi < MC kʰəj < OC *kʰɯːl | Dialect Cant. /hoi1/	****Except for the /ang/ form, all other forms are cognate to the VS         /há/, which include those of the Chin. 開 kāi as /hoi1/ appearing in Cant.
heo	pig	Old Mon /klīk/, /kliŋ/, Modern Mon /klik/, Danaw /kălék3,1/, Riang White and Black /lék\ /, Palaung /léʔ1/, Wa /li:k3/, Old Khmer /jrvrak/, Sakai /lu/, Semang /jalin/, Madurese /cheleŋ/ (wild pig), Khasi /sniang/	亥 hài (SV hợi, VS 'heơ') | M 亥 hài < MC ɦəj < OC *ɡɯːʔ | Note: the 12th animal in the zodiac table	****While all Mon-Khmer forms show cognates with V 'lợn', that is, plausibly a cognate with Chin. 豘 (豚) tún (SV đồn, độn). Chin. 亥 hài (SV 'hợi') with VS 'heơ' is another case, similar to the case of 'trâu' (water bufallo) or 'ngựa' (horse), which fits well into the 12 animal zodiac table the proto-Chinese must have borrowed from the Yue people from the China South.
hai	two	Old Mon /bār/, modern /ɓa/, Old Khmer /ver, vyar/, Bahnar /ɓar/, Mundari /bar/	二 èr (SV nhị, VS hai) | M 二  èr < MC ȵiɪ < OC *njis | Note: For VS hai, Consider the possibility of SV 'nhị' /ɲej6/ > /nhej/ > /hej1/ > /haj1/ ? | cf. VS 'hăm' 廿 niàn (SV nhập) 'twenty-', ex. 廿一 niànyī (SV nhậpnhất) or VS 'hămmốt' (twenty-one). In late Zhou 再 zài (SV tái) could be used to indicate the concept of 'hai' as in modern M 再三 zàisān (VS 'haiba') to mean 'two or (times)'.	**Phonetic vocables rendered with this item sounds like 'ba' (three) in Vietnamese, though. But it cannot be "three" because if it is the case, this sound will take place of the actual "ba", then; Vietnamese cognate is not mentioned in this item in any case. It is also interesting to see that number 'one' is not listed in Luce's listings. Luce's list starts with 'two'; no 'one' was cited while V 'một' ~ '一 yī' (SV nhất) as 'one' could be speculatively cognate.
gừng	ginger	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tagaw/, /lagaw/, Danaw /kătsaŋ4/, Riang White /kɤsʿiaŋ-/, Black /kəsʿɛ`ŋ, Palaung /ʃiaŋ2/, /cʿo:ŋ2/, Wa /ʃi4kiŋ2/, Khasi /sying/	薑 jiāng (SV khương, VS gừng) | M  薑 (𧅁) jiāng < MC kɨaŋ < OC *kaŋ | ¶ /j- ~ g-/	******The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate to other forms except for the modern Mon forms, even though they are cited by Luce as the Danaw form sub-strata.
gởi	send, conduct	Old Mon /pindoŋ/, Modern Mon /palăŋ/, Danaw /pʿu1/, Riang White and Black /pʿuʔ-/.	寄 jì (SV ký, VS gởi) | M 寄 jì < MC kjiə̆ < OC *krals | ¶ /j- ~ g-/, Ex. 雞 jī (SV kê, VS gà , 'chicken'), 薑 jiāng (SV khương, VS gừng, 'ginger')	****The VS ‘gởi’ and the Chin. 寄 jì are cognate; not sure what Luce meant here in his limited list for this item. (4)
chông/gốc	stump of tree	Mid. Mon /daguiw/, Modern Mon /dʿaguiw/, Danaw /tɔŋ2ŋɔt4/, Riang White /tjɤl\ŋɤl\ /, Black /tsəl\ŋəl\ /, Palaung /ŋói2/, Wa /klUh5/, Old Burmese /ŋut/, Malay /tuŋgul/, Biat /yôkŋǒl/, Srê /təŋgu/, Bahnar /ŋâl/	樁 zhuāng (SV thung, đang, VS chông, chống, đụn) | (1) M 樁 zhuāng, chōng < MC ʈaɨwŋ < OC *ʔr'oːŋ | (2) M 根 gēn < MC kæn < OC *kjə:n	*The author is unsure which Chinese etymon matches Viet. /chông/ or /gốc/ as intended by Luce.
gặt	to reap (with sickle)	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /rat/, Danaw /vwəik4/, Riang White /vwəit\ /, Black /vwəic\ /, Palaung /sUk1/, Malay /kěrat/ (to cut), Srê /ros/, Biat /rek/.	穫 huò (SV hoạch, VS gặt) | M 穫 huò, huà, hù < MC ɦwak < OC *ɢʷaːɡ || Ex. 收穫 shōuhuò (thugặt)='harvest'	****If Vietnamese gặt and Chinese 穫 huò are indeed cognate to those cited in Luce's list, especially given the consistent /v-/ onset across Mon-Khmer forms, the alignment is striking. This raises a deeper question of directionality: who borrowed from whom? Southern China was historically rice-growing territory, while the North cultivated wheat. The semantic domain of ‘reaping’ thus  more likely originated in the South, suggesting that the term may have diffused northward rather than the reverse.
gấu	bear	Old Mon /kmīm/, Modern Mon /kmim/, Danaw /kʿryet3/, Riang White and Black /krɛ`s-/, Palaung /krih3/ /kriχ3/, Wa /krih5/, Khasi /dnghiem/, Srê /grih/	熊 xióng (SV hùng, VS gấu, gụ) | M 熊 xióng < MC ɦuwŋ < OC *ɢʷlɯm | *OC 熊 熊 侵 雄 ɢʷlɯm | Wiktionary: For Viet. 'gấu', 'gụ', etymologically, it inherited from Proto-Vietic *c-guːʔ ~ *c-kuːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟkaw. Cognate with Bahnar chơgơu and Proto-Katuic *hŋkaw. Alternative forms (North Central Vietnam) gụ (no diphthongization) According to Bernhard Kargren, C ɣịung < AC g'iung < OC * g'ium. The ordinary Chinese word for 'bear' (ursus) is Mandarin hiung, developed from a 6th century ɣịung, which in its turn developed from a still older g'iung < Archaic Chinese g'ium (by dissimilation: a labial final - was impossible after labial main vowel -u- (cf. OC *pịm 'wind' > AC pịung.) That 'bear' really was a g'ium and not a g'iung in pre-Christian times is shown by a form in the Swatow dialect, the most archaic, most peculiar of all Chinese dialects. (Philology and Ancient China, pp. 135, 136). Per Starostin, 熊 xióng is black bear (Ursus torquatus), but he posits it with Viet. hùm that means 'tiger' which should be a doublet of 虎 hǔ (SV hổ, VS cọp) and 甝 hán (SV hàm) that is phonetically very close to OC *whǝm 'bear' and probably borrowed from this source; regular Sino-Viet. is hùng. Cf. also Viet. vâm 'elephant'?	****Given variations of other Mon-Khmer words, the V 'gấu' is plausibly cognate to the Chinese form /xióng/ with /*wh-/ ~ /g-/ and /-wŋ/ ~ /-aw/ sound change patterns.
gạo	husked rice	Viet. /gạo/, Old Mon /sŋoʾ/, Modern Mon /sŋu/, Danaw /ku/, Riang White and Black /koʔ-/, Palaung /răkɑ'u2/, Wa /ŋ-gɑ'u3ʔ/, Old Khmer /raŋko/, Nicobarese /atôe/, T'eng /hŋɔʔ, Khasi /khaw/, Shan /khaw/	稻 dào (SV đạo, VS gạo) | M 稻 dào < MC daw < OC *l'uːʔ || Note: per Schuessler, MC dâu < OC *gləwʔ or *mləwʔ).  || Etymology: According to Starostin, Chin. 稻 dào ~ Viet. 'lúa' (unhusked rice). For Viet. 'gạo', etymologically, from Proto-Vietic *r-koːʔ (“husked rice”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *rŋkoːʔ (“husked rice”). Cognate with Muong cảo, Khmer អង្ករ (ʼɑngkɑɑ, “uncooked, dehusked rice”), Khasi khaw, Chong rəkʰəw and Gata' rekoˀ ('uncooked rice'). According to Sagart (2003), Proto-Tai *C̬.qawꟲ (“rice”), whence Thai ข้าว (kâao), Lao ເຂົ້າ (khao), Lü ᦃᧁᧉ (ẋaw²), was borrowed from Austroasiatic. Alternative forms (North Central Vietnam) cấu (no lenition) (North Central Vietnam) gấu (with lenition)|| Starostin: Viet. lúa is an archaic loanword; regular Sino-Viet. is đạo. Protoform: *ly:wH (~ l^-), Meaning: rice, grain,	****All appear to be cognate to one another, but for the Chinese form it is credibly that it is a loanword from  ancient Yue languages in China South and it should be 'unhusked rice' in both Chinese and Vietnamese.
gót	sole, also Luce 'palm'	Old Mon /kintāl/ (=underpart), Modern Mon /gatā/, Danaw /patk1,3/, Riang White /plɑk-/, Black /plɑk-/, Palaung /kă\bɑ2/..., Wa /kiat1/, T'eng /kēdăk/ (=sole)	跟 gēn (SV căn, VS gót)  | M 跟 gēn < MC kən < OC *kɯːn || Note for 'bàntay', here is 手板 shǒubăn (SV thủbản) ~ VS 'bàntay' (palm) where 'bàn', literally, 'the panel' (of the palm)	****The Chinese forms are plausibly cognate to VS gót and bàn. Cf.  腳板 jiăobăn (bànchân)='sole'
gòn	cotton (plant)	No Old Mon /tow/, Danaw /pʿɑi4/, Riang White and Black /pʿɑi-/, Wa /tɑ2/, Old Khmer /pa-ɪk/ (cotton cloth), Khasi /khynphad/	草棉 căomián (SV thảomiên) ~> 'bônggạo', 'bônggòn' ~> 'gòn' (?) \ @ 棉 mián ~ VS 'bông' via ¶ /m- ~ b-/ | (1) M 草 cǎo, cào, zào < MC tsʰaw < OC *shūʔ || (2) M 棉 (綿) mián ~ 綿 mián < MC mjen < OC *men | FQ 武延 || Note: 棉 mián 'cotton, blanket, soft' (SV miên, VS mền, 'blanket', mềm, mịn, 'soft') | cf. 棉花 miánhuā ~ VS 'bôngvải' (cotton), 棉木 miánmù, 棉布 miánbù ~ VS 'vảibông' (cotton cloth), 木棉 mùmián ~ VS 'câygòn' (cotton plant) | Wiktionary: From Proto-Vietic *-kaːwʔ (“cotton tree”), probably from Proto-Austroasiatic *bka(ː)ʔ (“flower”). In Malay, the word kapok (from Javanese) refers to the same tree and fiber, suggesting possible regional influence.	*With the meaning 'cotton' the V words vary depending on what entity is specifically referred to. For example, for 'cotton' the Vietnamese word is 'bôngvải', 'cotton plant' ~ 'câybônggòn', but for 'cotton cloth' the right compound should be 'áovải' or 'áobông' while 'cotton pad' is 'bônggòn'. | Wiktionary: The word is not Sino-Vietnamese and ⟨g/gh⟩ is also not a possible initial in Sino-Vietnamese proper, therefore the word might be either native, a vernacular Sinitic loan (either from a regional Sinitic language or is an early, pre-Middle Chinese loan), or a loan from another neighboring language. The Nôm character 棍 as with many other cases, is merely a character formed by phono-semantic matching.
gãi	scratch, scrape	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kʿarak/, Danaw /kʿrɛ` ʔ/, /kʿriət3/, Riang White /kiɪt\ /, Black /kɪt\ /, kʿré-/, Wa /tjéh5/, /tjɪh5/ (of thorns), Khmer /kōs/, Besisi /kawait/, Semang /kaid/, Malay /kais/, Nicobarese /takaic/, Stieng /kuac/, Bahnar /kac/.	抓 zhuà (SV trảo, VS gãi) | M 抓 zhuā, zhāo, zhăo, zhào < MC tʂaɨw < OC *ʔsruː, *ʔsruːʔ, *ʔsruːs	****the Vietnamese form is cognate to that of the Chinese to mean 'scratch'. In the meanwhile other Mon-Khmer forms deviate differently.
gáy	nape (of the neck)'	(No Old Mon, mod. /katak/, Danaw /lɔʔ4Ut2/, Riang White /sʿɤkɔ\ /, Black /tərŋɔk\ /, Palaung /kăŋɔ3/, /kɑŋɑuh3/, Wa /tiaŋ4ŋɔt3/, T'eng /təglók/	頸 jǐng (SV cảnh, cành, VS gáy) | M 頸 jǐng, qìng, gěng < MC kjeŋ < OC *keŋʔ, *ɡeŋ	**No other Khmer and Vietnamese forms are listed. If anything is related to Vietnamese they should be 'càng' as in 'càngcổ' or (trunk of) the neck, which is similar to Chin. 脖頸 bójīng or 脖子 bózi (cáicổ) in reverse. cf. 胡 hú (SV hồ), plausible cognate to VS "cổ" (neck).
gáo, gàu	coconut water-dipper	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /gnā/, Danaw /...bui4/, Riang White and Black /boé-/, Palaung /bwé3/, /mwé2/, Wa /bUk3/	M 槔 gāo < MC kʌw < OC *ku:	****The Vietnamese VS 'gáo' or 'gàu' appears to be cognate to the Chinese槔 gāo than other forms that could mean something else like VS 'múc' (to scoop).
goá	widowed	Old Mon /kamāy/ (Mid. Mon), Modern Mon /kmāai/, Danaw /mɑiʔ3/..., Riang White /kɤmɑi\ /, Black /kəmɑi-/, Palaung /kămɑ'i2/,/kămɑ'i2/ Wa /mɑi2/, Old Khmer /māy/, T'eng /boi/, K'mu /boi/, Old Burmese /kmay/, Shan /mai/, Chin. /hmeɪ/, /meɪ/	寡 guă (SV quả, VS quả) | M 寡 guă, guà < MC kʷɯa < OC *kwra:ʔ | Ex. 寡婦 guăfù (SV quảphụ, VS 'goábụa' > #bàgoá, 'widow'). This dissyllabic word /quảphụ/ also gives rise to 'ởvậy' (widowed) in Vietnamese, literally, 'to live the same old way')	******The /boi/ form is somewhat related to VS /bụa/ and probably the /mai/ to /quả/ or /kamai/ to 'ởvậy'. In the meanwhile 'goá' in Vietnamese was definitely derived from Chinese by way of 寡婦 guăfù as /wa3buə6/, cf. 婦 fù (SV phụ) for both form Middle Vietnamese 'bụa' and 'vợ' (wife).
giở	lift	Old Mon /yok/, /yuk/, mod. Yuik, Danaw /yəik2/, Riang White /yɔŋ\ /, Black /tsɔ\ /, /pʿrɔ-/, Palaung djUk1, Wa /yUk3/, Mnong Gar /yək/, Srê /yō/, K’mu /yôk/, Shan /yuk.	舉 jǔ (SV cử, VS giở) | M 舉QT 舉 (擧) jǔ < MC kiɔ < OC *klaʔ | According to Starostin, 舉 jǔ 'to rise, surge, start'; 'to lift, promote'. Viet. also has giơ 'to show, to raise': is it a colloquial loanword from the same source? Derived with a *k-prefix from *laʔ, see 舁.	****The Vietnamese forms 'giở' and 'giơ' appear to be cognate to all forms from cross-linguistic families. (1)
giết	kill	Viet. /giết/, Old Mon /kucit/, Modern Mon /gacun/, Danaw /pyi:n4/, Riang White /pyam-/, Black /pɪɛ`m-/, Palaung /ŋɑʔ3/, / ŋɔʔ3/, Wa /ñah5/, /ñéh5/, Srê /gəsət/, Hanar /kəchǐt/, T’eng /gut/, /pəhan, /pʿān/, Lemet /piam/, Khasi /pyniap/, /pynjot/ (to destroy/, Mundari /goěʔ/.	殺 shā (SV sát, VS giết) | M 殺 shā, shài, sà, shài, shì, xuē (sát, sái, tát) < MC ʃɯæi, ʂəɨj < OC *sreːd, *sreːds	****While there is no doubt that both Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate to each other, but the similarities in the sound change patterns of a few other Mon-Khmer forms appear notable.
giậtmình	be startled	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /takuit/, Danaw /kʿrôn2/, Riang White and Black /kʿran-/.	吃驚 chījīng (SV ngậtkinh, VS giậtmình) / @ 吃 chī (SV ngật, VS 'giật') ~ 'giật' 失 shì (SV thất) {<~ '失驚 shījīng (SV thấtkinh)'} | M 吃 (喫) chī, jī, jí (ngật, cật) < MC kjit < OC *kɯd || M 驚 jīng < MC kaijŋ < OC *kreŋ | ¶ /j- ~ m-/	***The VS ‘giậtmình’ and the Chin. 吃驚 chījīng are definitely cognate while other forms in Luce's limited list for this item does not look like it. Could it be ''失驚 shījīng (SV thấtkinh)' ~ Modern Mon /takuit/' (4)
gió	wind	Old Mon /kyāl/, Modern Mon /kyā/, Danaw /kɔŋ4/, Riang White and Black /kur-/, Palaung /kʾu2/, Wa /m bɑ'ɯŋ2/, Old Khmer /khsal/, Biat /chial/, Srê /cal/, Bahnar /khnal/, Kʿmu /khur/ (storm), Mundari /hoẽo/, /hur-hur/	風 fēng (SV phong, VS giông, gió) | M 風 (凬、飌、檒) fēng, fěng, fèng < MC puwŋ < OC *plum, *plums | Note: with its doublet 颺 yáng (SV dương > VS giông, 'windstorm')	****Unless to be proved otherwise, the VS 'giông'> 'gió' and Chin. 風 fēng (SV phong) should be postulated as cognates.
giáo	spear	Old Mon /bnas/, Modern Mon /bnuh/, Danaw /plyɛ`h2/, Riang White and Black /plɛs\ /, Palaung /liəh3/, /lɛ`ɑu3/, Wa /pliah5/, Old Khmer /noc (ʔ)/, Sakai /bulus/, Selung /bulɔ/, Javanese /bulus/ T'eng /blya/, K'mu /plek/	槊 shuò (SV sóc, sáo, VS giáo) | (1) M 槊 shuò (sóc, sáo) < MC ʂaɨwŋk < OC *sraːwɢ  | ¶ /sh- ~ gi-/, Ex. 時  shí > VS giờ ('time') | (2) 鐮 (鎌, 磏) lián < MC liam < OC *ɡ·rem	***In Vietnamese there is the word 'giáo' that points to Chin. 槊 shuō and it seems that there is other word that sounds like any of other languages. Could their comparanda be 'sickle' for VS 'lưỡiliềm' (=鎌利 liánlì)?
giá	price	Old Mon /ŋūs/, Modern Mon /ŋuh/, Danaw /ŋɔt4/, Riang White and Black /laŋ-/, etc.	價 jià (SV giá) | M 價 jià, jiè, jie < MC kaɨ < OC *kra:s	*****The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are clearly cognate, having nothing to do with any other comparanda.
già	old (of person)	Old Mon /pjuʾ/, Modern Mon /byu/, Danaw /tʿɑo2/, Riang White /tʿɑu\ /, /tjaʔ-/, Black /tʿau-/, /tsɑ ʔ-/, Palaung /gat1/, Old Khmer /pju/, /pjuh/	耆 qí (SV kỳ, chỉ, VS già) | M 耆 (嗜) qí (kỳ, kì, chỉ, thị) < MC gi < OC *gri, *grij | Cf. Modern M 老 lǎo < MC law < OC ruːʔ | According to Starostin: Protoform *gri. Meaning: old. 耆 *grij old; 祁 *grij great, large. Tibetan: bgre (p. bgres) to grow old. Burmese: krih be old. Comments: Sh. 50; Luce 10.| Sino-Tibetan old, aged. For *g- cf. Xiamen, Fuzhou ki2.	****The same problem as the previous item, in this list only the Riang Black /tjaʔ-/ suggest something close to the VS ‘già’ while Danaw /tʿɑo2/ and Riang White /tʿɑu\ / suggest the Chinese form 老 lăo (SV lão).
giacầm	fowl	Old Mon /tyāŋ/, /tyeŋ/, Modern Mon /cāŋ/, Danaw /yén4/, Riang White /yɛr-/, Black /yɛ`r-/, Palaung /i:r2/, íər2/, Wa /iɑ2/, Bahnar /ir/, T'eng /ʿier/, Khasi /syiar/, Mundari /jiaŋ-jiaŋ/ (=chicken	家禽 jiāqín (SV giacầm)	*****The Vietnamese compound hereof simply a Middle Chinese variant of the Chinese form.
gai	thorn	Old Mon /jirla/, Modern Mon /jala/, Danaw /kălaʔ2/, Riang White /sʿɤr\kɤt-/, Black /sʿərkət-/ , Palaung /pă\ʔɛʔ1/, Wa /kat1/, Sakai /jěrlâkn/, Semang /jliʾ/ Bahnar /jělaʔ/, T'eng /cərlaʔ/, Khasi /shah/, Nicobarese /hēt/	棘 jí (SV cức, VS gai) | M 棘 jí, jì < MC kɨk < OC *krɯɡ | ¶ /j- ~ g-/	**Phonologically, the V 'gai' could possibly be cognate to Chin. 棘 jí. Ex. 荊棘 jīngjí: VS 'chônggai' (thistles and thorns)
dệt	plait, weave	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tān/, /tut/, Danaw /tɑi4/, /tan2/, Riang White /taiñ-/, Balck /tiɑñ-/, Palaung /ɗak1/ (to weave), Wa /tiɑñ2/, Old Khmer /tāñ/, Malay /dědan/, Nicobarese /tain/, Stieng, Biat , Srê, Mnong Gar, Bahar, T’eng /tañ/, Khasi /thaiñ/, Mundari /teŋ/.	織 zhí (SV chức, VS dệt) | M 織 zhī, zhí, zhì, chì (chức, chí, xí, thức) < MC tɕɨk, tɕɨ < OC *tjɯɡ, *tjɯɡs | ¶ /zh- ~ j-(d-)/ | Cf. 紙 zhǐ (SV chỉ, VS giấy, 'paper')	****All those forms with the phonemic initials /t-/, /th-/, and /ɗ-/ seem to point to the VS 'dệt' /jet8/ including that of the Chinese form.
dơi	bat	Old Mon /kilwa/, Modern Mon /kawa/, Danaw /lUk3lat2/, Riang White /tɤr\lɑk/, Black /rəlɑk\ /, Palaung /gădɑʔ1/, Wa /blak3/, Malay /kělawar/	鼯 wú (SV ngô, VS dơi) | M 鼯 wú < MC ŋuo < OC *ŋaː | ¶ /w- ~ j-(d-)/ Cf. 蝠 biānfú (SV biênbưc, VS dơi, < sound clipping) | M 蝙 biān, pián < MC pɛn < OC *pe:n || M 蝠 fú < MC pük < OC pǝk | ¶ /f- ~ j-(d-)/	**The VS dơi appears to fit well to the Chin. 鼯 wú etymon. Besides, the Vietnamese form is also plausibly cognate to 蝠 fú where /f-/ ~> /j-/ for 'dơi' /jǝj1/; otherwise, if there are any cognates at all posited for all other comparanda  it must be a falling-out form of Mon /-wa/ (cf. 鼯 wú),  which in turn possibly points to the Chin /fú/, a sound clipping from the dissyllabic form /biānfú/, cf. VS 'giàu' 富 fù (SV phú), 'dadẻ' 皮膚 pifū (SV bìphu), 'bưởi' 柚 yóu (SV du), 'giông' /jowŋm1/ 風 fēng (SV phong> VS gió), etc.
dê	goat	Old Mon /babeʔ/, Modern Mon /baɓeʔ/, Danaw /bo4bɛ`1/, Riang White /pɛʔ\ /, Black /pɛʔ-/, Palaung /pɛ`2/, Wa /bɛ`ʔ3/, Old Khmer /vave/, Sukai /kambikn/, Jakun /bêbek/, Cham /pabaiy/, Malay /kambiŋ/, Nicobarese /me/, Bahnar /bəbɛ`/, Pu-man /pir/, T'eng /bɛ`/, Savara /kimme/	羊 yáng (SV dương, VS dê) | M 羊 (祥) yáng, xiáng (dương, tường) < MC jaŋ < OC *laŋ | According to Starostin, Protoform: *jă(k) / *jăŋ. Meaning: goat, yak. Chinese: 羊 *laŋ sheep, goat. Tibetan: g-jag the yak. Kachin: ja3 a wild goat. Lepcha: jo/k a yak, Bos grunniens. Comments: Trung ja? mongrel; Yamphu ja' :-suba 'goat'.| Dialects : Tn : iã1, Hk : iaŋ12, Tx : iaŋ12, Dc : iaŋ12, Tc : iaŋ12, Ôc : ɦi12, Ts : ian12, Sp : iaŋ12, Nx : iɔŋ31, Hẹ : jɔŋ12, Qđ : jöŋ12, Hm : iɔŋ12 (lit.), iũ12, Trc : iẽ12, Th : iã 32	******There is no doubt that the Chin. 羊 yáng is cognate to VS 'dê' while other Mon-Khmer forms look similar to VS 'bê' (calf). Interestingly, another cognate is the Chin. 未 wèi (SV 'mùi', 'vị'), the 8th animal in the 12 animal zodiac table. The significant thing to note here is that the latter 未 wèi must stand for 'goat', not 'sheep', as northern Chinese scholars have tried hard to convince the world every time the Year of the Goat returns (2003, 2015, 2027, etc.).
dâyleo	creeper	Old Mon /juk/, Modern Mon /juk/, Danaw /tseŋ2/, Riang White /tji:ŋ\ /, Black /tsi:ŋ\ /, Palaung /kăsaŋ2/, Wa /mɑ3/ (rope)	攀緣 fànyuán (SV phanduyên, VS dâyleo) | M 緣 yuán, yuàn (duyên, duyến) < MC jwian < OC *lon, *lons | According to Starostin, hem (of robe) (L.Zhou) Cf. also a colloquial loan in Viet.: viền 'to hem, to border'. Also used for homonymous *L^on (-r) 'to go along, follow; reason, destination' and *L^on (-r) 'to climb a tree'.	*We can tentatively posit 攀 fàn for 'dây' while 緣 yuán could be cognate to 'leo' following the pattern /y- ~ l-/'.
diều	bird of prey, kite	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /hawkluiŋ/ (large hornbill) (?), Danaw /kăyɑŋ4kyɑŋ2/, Riang White and Black /klɑŋ-/, Palaung /klɑŋ2/, Dnaw /klɑŋ2/, Khmer /khlaŋ/ (fish eagle), Sakai /kělâtn/, Semang /kělă/ Malay /hělɑŋ/, Srê, Bahnar /klaŋ/, T'eng /klaŋ/, Khasi /khlɪeŋ/	鳶 yuān (SV diên, VS diều) | M 鳶 yuān < MC jwian < OC *ɢʷen | Ex.黑耳鳶 hēiryuān (diềuhâu) | Etymology: from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *dzwan (“kite”). Cognate with Burmese စွန် (cwan, “kite”) (STEDT).	***Unlike other comparanda, for 'kite' the Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognates.
da	skin	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /snɑm/, Danaw /kădət3/, Riang White /hu:r-/, Black /hur-/, Palaung /hu2/, Wa /hɑʔ1/, T'eng /pūr/, K'mu /kpur/, Mundari /ūr/, Khasi /snep/	皮 pí (SV bì, VS da), 膚 fū (SV phu, VS da) | (1) M 皮 pí < MC bjiə̆ < OC *bral | (2) M 膚 fū, lú < MC pio < OC *pla	***The Chinese /pí/ is more like VS 'da' /ja1/ but the form /fū/ is closer to other forms.
cựa	burr	No Mon, Danaw /tăbyɪt3/, Riang White /sʿɤvwɔit\ /, Black /sʿəvwɔic\ /, Palaung /kābiʔ1/, Wa /pi:t1/	棘 jí (SV cức, VS cựa, gai) | M 棘 jí, jì < MC kɨk < OC *krɯɡ	*Again, the Chin. 棘 jí could possibly give rise to both 'gai' and 'cựa'.
cứt	dung	No Old Monn, mod. /ʿik/, Danaw /yaŋ4/, Riang White and Black /yaŋ-/, Palaung /íəŋ2/, /íɛŋ2/, Wa /iɑŋ2/, Khmer /āc/, Sakai /êt/, /êg/, Semang /ɪ/, /aɪh/, Nicobarese /āɪch/, /āɪk/, Bahnar /ɪc/, /ɪk/, T'eng /ʔɪak/, Khasi /eɪk/, Mundari /ɪʔ/	屎 shǐ (SV thỉ, VS cức) | M 屎 shǐ, xī < MC ɕɯi, hi  < OC *hliʔ, *hri  | According to Zhou Fagao (Zhongyuan Yinyun, p.251), TB: *kip, Burmese: khjijh excrement, Kachin: khji3 excrement, Dimasa: khi, Garo: khi, Bodo: kí, Kham kī; , Kanauri khoa, Bahing khl, Digaro: klai. Simon 19; Sh. 44; Ben. 39; Mat. 191.	***Note that in Zhou Fagao (zyxlj p.251) M 屎 shǐ also cognate to another form of ancient Tibetan: *kəp In other cases, it is unlikely that this is a case of the initial **k- having evolved into zero (Ø) in most languages cited in Luce's wordlist above. If that is the case, they are cognate to them then, otherwise, the cited forms could be postulated to be cognate to VS 'ỉa' (to poop, to shit), which, in turn, is a similar form of Cant. /o5/ 屙 M. /è/.
củ	taro, tubers	Old Mon /krow/ (ʔ), Modern Mon /krau/, Danaw /kărō1/, Riang White /sʿɤroʔ-/, Black /sʿəroʔ-/, Wa /krɑuʔ1/, Khasi /shriew/, Mundari /aru/, /saru/	薯 shǔ (SV thự, VS củ) | M 薯 (藷) shǔ < MC dʑɨə̆ < OC *djas | Etymology: Per Starostin, Proto-Austroasiatic *wa:j, Muong dialect /khwaj/	***All the Vietnamese forms 'khoaisắn', 'củ', 'khoai', and 'sắn' seem to have cognates in all languages involved, which could be a falling-out of 塊莖 kuàijīng (SV khốicanh, VS 'khoaisắn' ~ 'củ', 'khoai', 'sắn'.
cỡi	ride, mount	Old Mon /duk/, /dok/, Modern Mon /ɗuik/ , Danaw /tən4/, Riang White and Black /tutum/, Bahnar /tōk/.	騎 qí (SV kỵ, VS cỡi, cưỡi) | M 騎 qí, jì < MC gjiə̆ < OC *gral, *grals	*****The Vietnamese form is certainly cognate to that of the Chinese one while others in the Mon-Khmer languages seem to deviate a great deal if they are cognates at all. (4)
cột, trụ	house post	Old Mon /jiñjuŋ/, Modern Mon /dayuŋ/, Danaw /kʿăraŋ2/, Riang White /kɤn\raŋ\ /, Black /kən\raŋ\ /	棟 dòng (SV đống, VS 'đà')?, 柱 zhú (SV trụ, VS cột)?	*The author is not sure what all these comparanda are related to Vietnamese.
cột	tie, fasten	Old Mon /dak/, Modern Mon /dak/, Danaw /tôk1/, Riang White and Black /tuk-/, Palaung /ɗɤk1/, Wa /pyɔk1/, T’eng /tǔk/, Khasi /the.	結 jié (SV kết, VS cột, thắt) | M 結 jié, jié, jiē < MC ket < OC *ki:d | ¶ /j- ~ k-, th-/	****VS /cột/ is clearly cognate to the Chin. 結 jié which may or may not be related to other Mon-Khmer forms, which could relate to VS /thắt/, a deviation of 結 jié, though, rather than紥  zhā (SV trát).
cổ	neck	Viet. /cổ/, Old Mon /koʾ/, Modern Mon /kaʾ/, Danaw /kɔŋ2/, Riang White /kok/, Black /kok/, Palaung /kʿāmɛ`ŋ2/, Wa /nɔʔ3/, Khmer /kah/, Sakai /kuaʾ/, Semang /sěŋkoʾ (=larynx), Srê /ŋkɔ/, Bahnar /hako/, /ako/, T'eng /ŋɔk/, Shan /kɔ/, Lao /go/, S Karen /kʿUʔ/, /koʔ/ (etc.), Mundari /hotoʔ/	胡 hú  (SV hồ, VS cổ) | M 胡 hú < MC ɦɔ < OC *ga:  | Cf. 喉 hóu (SV hầu, VS cổ)  | M 喉 hóu < MC ɠʊw < OC *ghro: | Etymology: Comparative Mon–Khmer evidence: Khmer: kâl ‘neck, nape’, Mon: kuiʔ ‘neck’. Proto-Vietic reconstructions also yield forms like \koʔ, \kuʔ for ‘neck’. → This strongly suggests cổ is inherited, not borrowed. According to Starostin: for OC *gh- cf. Xiamen, Chaozhou au2, Protoform: *khrjə:w (~gh-,qh-,Gh-), Meaning: throat, Chinese: *gh(r)o: throat, Tibetan: kru-kru windpipe (cf. also mgur, mgul throat, neck, ko-ko throat, chin), Kachin: z^|jəkhro1 the throat, gullet.	****It looks like all forms are cognates cross several linguistic families. However, the Chinese etymon 喉 hóu is exactly 'throat'.  Per An Chi 胡 hú (SV hồ) = VS cổ. Ex. 《詩經 · 狼 跋》: 狼 跋 其 胡, 載 疐 其 尾. 'Shījīng -- Láng Bá': Láng bá qí hú, zài zhì qí wěi. (Thikinh -- Lang Bạt': Đạpphải cổ mình, lại vướng đằngđuôi.)= 'The wolf stumbles at its throat/neck.' whereas 胡 here = 'throat', 'dewlap'; hence, 'neck'.
cối	mortar (for rice)	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /ɓuik/, Danaw /tɑŋ2pôn4/, Riang White and Black /pal-/, Palaung /bar2/, Wa /po2/, Old Khmer /thpal, Biat /mʾpal/, Srê /mpal/, Bahnar /təpăl/	臼 jìu (SV cữu, VS cối) | M 臼 jìu < MC guw < OC *guʔ | Example: 杵臼 chǔjìu (VS cốichày.)	****While all other Mon-Khmer forms do not look like having to do with the V /cối/, the Chin. /jìu/ definitely is.
cọp	tiger	Old Mon /klaʾ/, Modern Mon /kla/, Danaw /tăwɑi2/, Riang White /rɤvwɑ'i\ /, Black /rəwɑ'i\ /, Palaung /răvwɑ'i2/, /rāwɑ'i2/, Wa /ʃi4vwɑi2/, Old Khmer /klā/, Sakai /klaʾ/, Bahnar /kla/, Srê /kliu/, Khasi /khla/, Mundari /kula/, Kurku /kūlā/, T'eng /təvai/	虎 hǔ (SV hổ, VS cọp) | M  虎 hǔ < MC huo < OC *qʰlaːʔ | Wiktionary: From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *k-la (“tiger”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *kla(ː)ʔ (“tiger”). Cognate with 菟 (OC *daː) in 於菟 (OC *qa daː, “tiger”). Compare Vietnamese khái ('tiger'). Hill (2019) compares it to Tibetan སྟག (stag, “tiger”); however, Zheng Zining deems that comparison 'probably spurious'.	***All forms of cognates with initial /k-/ and /kl-/ above certainly must have originated from the same root, probably of a form diverged from proto-Tai. The Chinese word 寅 yǐn (SV dần) for the 3rd animal in the 12 animal zodiac table appears to cognate with 'hùm' 虎 hǔ or 甝 hán (SV hàm), i.e.,  per An Chi, 寅 yǐn >  甝 hán  > 虎 hǔ!
cặc	penis	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /bow/, Danaw /lé1/, Riang White and Black /klɛ`ʔ-/, Palaung /béu3/, Wa /klɪʔ1/, Car Nicobarese /ku-lɔɪch/, Mundari /loeʔ/	㞗 qíu (SV cầu, VS cặt) | M 㞗 (毬, 球) qíu < MC guw < OC *gu	***If there is any similarity to draw here is the forms that appear in Riang as /klɛ`ʔ-/ and Wa /klɪʔ1/ while in others thk- has been dropped. The same can be said with the Chinese dialectal form which, if related at all, has been contracted to 'cặc' ¶ /j- ~ k-/, /-t ~ -k/ ]
cắt	cut, cut down	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /bāk/, /kut/, Danaw /mɔk2/, Riang White /mak\ /, Black /mɔk\ /, Wa /mUk3/, T’eng /bok/	割 gē (SV cát, VS cắt) | M 割 gē < MC kat < OC *ka:t	****The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognates for sure; however, in Luce's limited list for this item, except for the Modern Mon form /kut/, all other forms seem to suggest the word 'phạt' (via /b-/ and /m-/) in Vietnamese which is also certainly cognate to 伐 fá in Chinese.
cầuvồng	rainbow	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kʿamaŋ suŋ ɗāk/ (crossbeam drinks water), Danaw /pāyɔŋ2/, Riang White /tɑi-pɤr\ñuɑŋ\ /, Black /tɑi-pər\ñuɔŋ\ /, Palaung /plɑŋ3(kădu2)/, Wa /ʃi4yɔŋ2/, T'eng /dur-prʿyoŋ/ (rainbow dragon), Khasi /simpyllieng/	彩虹 căihóng (SV tháihồng, VS cầuvòng, mốngchuồng | M 虹 hóng < MC ɣuŋ < OC *gōŋ, *ghoŋs, *krōŋs || Example: 彩虹 想 總裁.  Cǎihóng xiǎngzǒng​cái. (Mốngchuồng đang muốnchồng.)	***While V 'mốngchuồng' may not be the cognate but 'cầuvồng' could be with 彩虹 căihóng. Other forms in Mon-Khmer are not.
cạp	bite	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kit/, Danaw /kiət3/, Riang White and Black /kak\ /, Palaung /gɑʔ3/, /gɑk3/, Wa /ki:t/, /kʿléat1/, Malay /gigit/.	嗑 kè (SV hạp, VS cạp) | M  嗑 kè, kē < MC kap, ɦap < OC *ka:b, *ga:b	****All etyma appear to point to V 'cạp' or 'gặm'.
cạn	shallow, low	Old Mon /sar/, Modern Mon /kɗā/, Danaw /saw/, Riang White and Black /dɛ`l-/	淺 qián (SV thiển, VS cạn) | M 淺 qiăn, qiān, jiăn, jiàn, cán, zàn (thiển, thê, tiên) < MC tsʰian, tsen < OC *shlenʔ, *ʔslen	****The only cognate forms that appear here are those of Vietnamese and Chinese etyma.
cười	laugh	Old and Modern Mon /gruŋ/, Danaw /kălit3/ Riang White / kăñɑʔ1/, Riang White /kɤñɑ s\ /, Black /ŋot\ /, Palaung /kăñ ɑ3/, Wa /ñah5/, /ñéh5/.	笑 xiào (SV tiếu, VS tếu, cười) | M 笑 xiào < MC siaw < OC *sqʰows | ¶ /x- ~ k-(c-)/	****All Mon-Khmer forms look like cognates while the Vietnamese and Chinese. forms need some enumeration in order to equate the two etyma.
cũ	old (of things)	Old Mon /tinrem/, Modern Mon /tarem/, Danaw /ătəik3,1/, Riang White /tri:m-/, Black /trim-/, Palaung /ăprim2/, Wa /pă4pri:m2/, /Srê /rām/, Lemet /prim/, Khasi /rim/, /larim/.	舊 jìu (SV cựu, VS cũ) | M 舊 jìu, xīu < MC gjəw < OC *ɡʷɯs | According to Starostin, 舊 jìu 'be old, ancient' (not of people). Regular Sino-Viet. is cựu. Cf. also Viet. khú, khụ. 'very old'. The original meaning of the graph was probably 'owl', but this usage is actually attested only since Han.	****In contrast to VS ‘mới’, the ‘cũ’ is certainly cognate to the Chin. 舊 jìu, which appears to have nothing connected with other Mon-Khmer forms.
cây	tree, wood	Viet. /cây/, /thân/, Old Mon /cʿuʾ/, /tam/, Modern Mon /tnam/, Danaw /tsok4θé1/, Riang White /tɤŋ-kʿɛʔ-/, Black /təŋ-kʿɛʔ-/, Palaung /héi2/, /hɑ'i2/, /hɔ'i2/, /taŋ2/, /tiŋ2/, teŋ2/, Wa /kʿɪʔ/, kʿɑuʔ1/ (firewwood), Old Khmer /jhe/, /tem/, tnem/, Sakai /jěhu/, Semang /tum/, Old Malay /kāyu/, /bataŋ/ Nicobarese /chīa/, Srê /chɪ/, /təm/, T'eng /həʔɛ`ʔ/ (firewood), P'uman /zɪe/, K'mu /che/, Khasi /ba-eh (wooden), /dieng/ (tree), Mundari /sɪŋ/	株 zhū (SV châu, VS cây, 'tree') | (1) M 株 zhū < MC ʈuə̆ < OC *to | (2) 樹 shù (SV thụ, VS cây 'tree' | M 樹 shù < MC dʑuə̆ < OC *djoʔ, *djos || (3) 木 mù (SV mộc, VS gỗ 'wood' ) | M 木 mù (mộc, mục) < MC məwk < OC *moːɡ | (4)  材 cái (SV tài, VS gỗ, 'wood') | M 材 cái < MC dzəj < OC *zlɯː | (5) 柴 chái (SV sải, VS cũi, 'firewood') | M 柴 chái, chá, zhài, cī, zì < MC dʐaɨj < OC *zreː	***Looking at the lexical patterns for the Viet. /cây/, /thân/ given by Luce's comparanda in different languages, we can similarly associate several Chinese words that could be good candidates for the cognates with Vietnamese forms, such as 'cây' 樹 shù (tree), 材 cái 'gỗ' (wood), 柴 căi 'cũi' (firewood), 本 běn 'thân' ('trunk' vs. 'root' 根 gēn 'gốc'), each which differentiates better every distinctive etymon, phonologically and lexically.
cánh	wing	Old Mon /sumneŋ/ (=winged), Modern Mon /sneŋ/, Danaw /pʿan2/, Riang White /pɪaŋ-/, Black /pɪɛŋ-/, Palaung /pʿiəŋ2/, /pʿyUŋ2/, Wa /pʿrɤɪt1/, Semang /bieg/, Car Nicobarese /sănéōk/, Khasi /thapɪniang/	胳 gē (SV cách, các, ca, VS cánh)| M  胳 (肐 gē) gē, gé, gā  < MC kak < OC *kla:g | Cf. Modern M 翅膀 chìbăng (SV chibàng, VS cánh <  sound clipping) | M 翅 (翄) chì, shī, jì, qí < MC ɕiə̆ < OC *qʰjes | M 膀 bǎng, bàng, pāng, páng, pǎng (bàng, bang) < MC baŋ < OC *ba:ŋ	***Besides 胳 gē as a possible match for VS cánh, the disyllabic form 翅膀 chìbǎng, or even the monosyllabic 膀 bǎng, may be considered to share the same root. As the etymological evidence presented in the cited sources suggests, the Vietnamese cánh could be cognate with a contracted form of these Sinitic items. Cf. 胳臂 gēbèi ~ VS cánhtay, 'arm'.
cám	thusk of rice	Viet. /cám/, Old Khmer /aŋkām/, Malay /sěkam/, Biat /nʾkʿop/, T'eng /kam/, Lemet /nkām/, Khasi /skap/	糠 kāng (SV khang, VS cám) | M 糠 kāng < MC kʌŋ < OC *ka:ŋ |  Ex. 糝糠 sănkāng (SV tầmkhang, VS tấmcám, 'broken rice husk and bran residue left from ground rice grains'; hence, figuratively, 'impoverished')	****Besides other forms, it is doubtless that the C /kāng/ is cognate to the V /cám/ with the interchage of their intitial /kh- ~ k-/ and syllable /-ang/ ~ /-am/. It is likely that both Vietnamese and Chinese forms originated from the same root, including that of compound 'tấmcám' (rice husk residue).
cá	fish	Viet. /cá/, Old Mon /kɑʾ/, Modern Mon /kɑ/, Danaw /ʔyaŋ4/, Riang White and Black /kaʔ-/, Palaung /kɑ2/, Wa /kaʔ1/, Sakai /kaʾ/, Semang /kah/, Malay /ikan/ Nicobarese /kâa/, Stieng, Srê, Bahnar /ka/, P'uman /kʿa/, T'eng /kaʔ/, Mundari /hai/, /haku/, Kurku /kaku/	魚 yú (SV ngư, VS cá) | M 魚 yú < MC ŋɨə̆ < OC *ŋa | According to Starostin: fish. For *ŋh- cf. Xiamen hi2, Chaozhou hy2. | Protoform: *ŋ(j)a. Meaning: fish. Chinese: 魚 *ŋha fish. Tibetan: ɳa fish. Burmese: ŋah fish, LB *ŋhax. Kachin: ŋa3 fish. Lushei: ŋha fish, KC *ŋha\. Kiranti: *ŋ@\ . Comments: PG *ta\rŋa; BG: Garo na-tk, Bodo ŋa ~ na, Dimasa na; Chepang ŋa ~ nya; Tsangla ŋa; Moshang ŋa'; Namsangia ŋa; Kham ŋa:\L; Kaike ŋa:; Trung ŋa1-pla?1. Simon 13; Sh. 36, 123, 407, 429; Ben. 47; Mat. 192; Luce 2. | Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *ka, Thai: ka:.A, Proto-Katuic: *ka, Proto-Bahnaric: *ka, Khmer: ka:-, Proto-Vietic: *kaʔ, ʔǝ-, Proto-Monic: *ka:ʔ, Proto-Palaungic: *kaʔ, Proto-Khmu: *kaʔ, Khasi: doh=kha, Proto-Aslian: *kaʔ, Proto-Viet-Muong: *kaʔ, ʔ-, Thomon: ka.343ʔ, Tum: ka.212 (Kh 714; VHL 64; S-27) | Note: OC *ŋh- ~> k- (ca-)	****All languages for this item in Luce's list are cognate while the Chinese form 魚 yú (SV ngư) is possibly cognate as well where OC *ŋha ~> /ka/. (See APPENDIX M for the case of 'ketchup', 'catsup' 魚汁 yúzhí)
cày	hoe, spade-blade	Old Mon /kwir/ (n.), /jik/ (v.), Modern Mon /kʿɑɓɑk/, Danaw /kɔplɑ1/, Riang White and Black /plɑ-/, Palaung /plɑ3/, Wa /kɔk4pyɑk1/ (=hoe-Blade)	耜 sì (SV tỷ, tỉ, cử, VS cày) | M 耜 (梩) sì  < MC zɨ < OC *ljɯʔ	***It appears that the Vietnamese forms /cày/ is much more cognate to the Chin. 耜 sì than to other forms in the Mon-Khmer languages.
cà	aubergine	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /kʿaɗoŋ/, Danaw /(plé1)lôn2/, Riang White /tɤr\luŋ\ /, Black /tər\luŋ\ /	茄 qié (SV già, VS cà | M 茄 qié < MC ga < OC *ghiaj | QÐ: khe12, Hm: khe11 $; kio12; khe12, TrC: kie12, Pk: kia11, Th: ka32 | từ vaymượn trong tiếngHán | Starostin: The oldest attested meaning and reading is OC *kra:j, MC ka. (FQ 求迦), Mand. jia: 'lotus stalk' (Han); the meaning 'egg-fruit' is attested since Tsin. The MC reading ga is exceptional (-a normally does not occur after velars) and may be dialectal; thus the OC form for 'egg-fruit' could have been *ghaj. Viet. cà is colloquial; regular Sino-Viet. is già. For *gh- cf. Xiamen khe2. | ex. 茄子 qiézi (SV giàtử) ~ VS càtím 'eggplant' (Solanum melongena) ~ VS 'cà' (a bushy perennial plant belonging to the potato family)	*****All other forms are absent from Luce's list even though aubergine, brinjal, or eggplant are known native in southern regions while 茄 qié is a generic term which is cognate to V /cà/.
cuncút	quail	(Corturnix), Viet. /cuncút/, Old Mon tgit/, /tget/, /tgat/, Modern Mon /daguit/, /thagut/, Danaw /taʔ3kot2/, Riang White /rɤku:t\ /, Black /rəkut\ /, Palaung /ăguʔ1,3, Wa /kɯt1/, Khmer /grwac/, Biat /gôi/, Srê /rəgut/, T'eng /təgut/, Khasi /tyut/, Mundari /gagar/	鶉 chún (SV thuần, VS cút, cuncút)  reduplicative '鶉 chún (cun)' + '鶉 chún (cút) | M 鶉 chún < MC dʒwin < OC *dhwǝn	***Most of the forms are cognates, including the Chinese reduplicative compound.
tôm	crab (?)	Viet. /tôm/ (prawn), No Old Mon, mod. /gatā/, Danaw /kătam2/, Riang White /kɤtɑm-/, Black /kətɑm-/, Palaung /tākrɛk3/, Wa /tɑm2/, Semang /kěntem/, Srê /tām/, T'eng /kətam/, Khasi /thəm/ Mundari /katəkom/, /karakom/	蝦 xiā (SV hà, VS tép,  tôm,  || M 蝦 (虾) há, xiā < MC ɦaɨ < OC *gra:, *qʰraː  || M 蟹 (蠏) xiè, xiě, xié < MC ɦaɨj < OC *gre:ʔ  | Chin. 蟹 xié (SV giải ~> VS ghẹ > cáy > cua , 'crab') | According to Starostin: crab (Han). Normal Sino-Viet. is giải: it is interesting that both this form and the colloquial cáy reflect a voiceless initial (possibly pointing to a variant *kre:?). | Protoform: *q(r)e:(j)H. Lushei: ai, KC *t?-g|ai. Lepcha: ta<-hi. Kiranti: *ghra\	****All the Mon‑Khmer languages point toward VS tôm, and they appear also to be cognate with VS contôm. Yet, as illustrated in Luce’s comparanda, these items are consistently mis‑labeled as ‘crab’. In contrast, the Vietnamese forms cua and tôm, together with their variants, align more plausibly with the Chinese equivalents /xià/ and /xié/, the latter corresponding to 蟹 xié.
con	child	Viet. /kon/, Old Mon kon/, Modern Mon /kon/, Danaw /kon4/, Riang White and Black /kuan/, Palaung /kɔn2/, Wa /kɔn2/, Old Khmer /kon/, /kun/, Sakai /kěnon/, Semang /kodn/, Nicobaese /kōan/, Shom Peng /köat/, Pʿman /kʿuan/, Bahnar /kon/, T'eng /kon/, Khasi /khún/, War /hūn/, Mundari /hon/, /hɔn/, Sav /on/, Gad /ōdu-ōn, Kurku /kōn/	子 zǐ (SV tử, VS con) | M 子 zī, zǐ, zì, zí, zi, cí (tử, tý) < MC tsɨ < OC *ʔslɯʔ. | Etymology: For Chin. 子 zǐ (SV tử), cf. Fukienese (Fuzhou) 囝 Fukien /kiaŋ/, /kiã/, /kẽ/ ‘son, child’. According to Starostin, 子 zǐ 'child, son, daughter, young person; prince'; a polite substitute for 'you' Also read *c@?-s, MC cjy\, Mand. zì 'to treat as a son'. Related is 字 *z|@?-s 'to breed' q. v. The character is also used for an homonymous word *c@? 'the first of the Earthly Branches' (in Sino-Viet.: tý). Interestingly, 子 zǐ also means 'girl',. Ex. 處子 chūzǐ # 'gáitơ' (= 處女 chǔnǚ, SV xửnữ, 'virgin'), 《詩經 · 周南 · 桃夭  》： 之 子 於歸，宜其 室家. Shījīng -- Zhōunán -- Táoyāo': Zhī zǐ yúguī, yí qì shìjiā. ('Thikinh -- Châunam -- Đàoyêu': Congái vuquy, để thành giathất.), 子婿 zǐxù (chàngrể), 子民 zǐmín (condân), 長子 zhǎng​zǐ​ (contrưởng), 孩子 háizi (concái), 戲子 xìzi (conhát).	****Except for those variants of Chinese M 子 zǐ (SV tử) and Fukienese /kẽ/, there is no doubt that all the forms are the same in this item.
chổi	broom (to sweep)	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /tamah/, /twah/, Danaw /tɔn2pʿyé4/, /tăpʿyé4/, Riang White /tɤn\pi:s-/, /pi:s/, Black /tən\pi:s-/, /pi:s/, Palaung /kăɓih3/, /ɓih3/, /ɓiχ3/, Wa /bi:h5/, Khmer /ampos/, /os/, Sakai /sapu/, Besisi /tampoys/, Malay /sapu/, Mundari /jonoʔ/, /joʔ/, etc.	箒 zhǒu (SV chửu, VS chổi) | M 箒 (帚) zhǒu (trửu, chửu) < MC tʂǝw < OC *tuʔ	***Except for the Danaw form that sound like VS 'tạpdề' (mop?, apron?) and the Mundari forms with /jonoʔ/, /joʔ/ ('chổi' ?), all other forms do not seem to relate to VS 'chổi' which is cognate to Chinese 帚 zhǒu.
chết	to die	Viet. /chết/, Old Mon /kcit/, Modern Mon /kʿyuit/, Danaw /pyi:n2/, Riang White and Black /yam-/, Palaung /yam2/, Wa /yUm2/, Khmer /khūc/, Stieng /chot/, Biat /khöt/, Srê /chət/, Mnong Gar /khət/, Bahnar /kəcǐt/, Khasi /jot/ (to perish), Mundari /gojoʔ/, Juang /goju/, Santali /gujuk/, T’eng /han/, K’mu /yăm/, Lemet /yam/, Khasi /iap/.	死 sǐ (SV tử, VS chết) | M 死 sǐ < MC sji < OC *sijʔ	**Even though most of the forms in Luce’s list for this item show correspondences to the Vietnamese articulation of ‘chết’, besides C 死 sǐ there are several other Chinese words cognate to V 'chết' in different contexts, e.g., 逝 shì (SV thệ), 折 zhé (SV chiết), 卒 zú (SV tốt, cf. VS 'chốt'), 陟 zhì (SV trắc), etc. Also, the Sino-Tibetan etyma are worth speculating. (See the next section on the
chật	tight, taut	Old Mon /tinteŋ/ (?), Modern Mon /teŋ/, Danaw /kʿreŋ2/, Riang White /kʿre’ŋ\ /, Black /kre’ŋ\ /, Palaung /kʿyɛ3/, Wa / ʃi4ñɛ`3/, Khasi /pyrkhiŋ/, Shan /khiŋ/.	窄 zhăi (SV trách, trạch, VS chật) | M 窄 zhăi, zé < MC tʂaik < OC *ɕra:k	****The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are obviously cognate with the frequent pattern of /tr-/ ~ /ch-/, hence, SV 'trạch' /trajk6/ ~> VS 'chật' /ʨəʔt6/ (Northern) ~ /ʨək6/ (Southern), while Mon-Khmer others appear to be dubious.
chấy	louse in the hair	Viet. /chấy/, no Old Mon. mod. /cai/, Danaw /tsɪ1/, Riang White and Black /sʿɪʔ/, Palaung /sɑ'ɪ2/, /sɔ2/, Wa /ʃɪʔ1/, Khmer /caɪ/, Sakai /cha/ Semang /chiʾ/, Nicobarese /shēɪ/, Stieng /sɪh/, Srê /săi/, T'eng /séʔ/, Khasi /ksi/, Mundari /siku/	虱 shī (SV siết, sắt, VS chí, chấy) | M 虱 (蝨) shī < MC ʂit < OC *sriɡ	****Interestingly enough, the Chin. form /shī/ appears to be cognate to other Austroasiatic forms, too, and that could likely be coincidental.
chải	comb (wet) hair	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /grah/, Danaw /kiɛ`t3/, Riang White and Black /kɑs\/, Nicobarese el-kōat/ (comb), Mundari /nakiʔ/	梳 shǔ (SV sơ, VS chải) | M 梳 shū, shù, shǔ < MC ʂɨə̆ < OC *sŋra  | ¶ /sh- ~ ch-/	***No correspondences in Luce’s comparanda for this item. The Vietnamese and Chinese forms could possibly be cognate.
chúng	they	Old Mon /deh t-eh/, Modern Mon /ɗeʾ taʾ/, Danaw /kʿɤʔ1,3/, Riang White /kɤʔ\ /, Black /kəʔ\ /, Palaung /kɛ`2/, Wa /kʿɛʔ/, Old Khmer /ke/	他們 tāmén > 'chúngnó' > 'chúng' | M 他 (佗) tā, tuō, duò < MC tʰa < OC *l̥ʰaːl || M 們 mén, men ~ ht. M 門 mén < MC muən < OC *mu:n | Note: (1) Suffix indicating plural for pronouns, some animated nouns and personifications: 我們 wǒmen (VS mình, 'we'), 孩子們 háizimen (VS nhữngtrẻcon, 'children". (2) Suffix attached to the name of the representative of a group to refer to that whole group. General suffix indicating plural.: (dialectal Mandarin, Jin): 花兒們 huārmen (những bônghoa, 'flowers').	**For other forms,  it could be also a cognate of 'kẻ' as in 'kẻkhác' (其他 qítā , SV kỳtha, VS khác <~ sound clipping).The Vietnamese form 'kẻ' is similar to /ke/ but the Mon forms, /deh t-eh/, Modern Mon /ɗeʾ taʾ/, look like VS 'tụinó'. In any case, 'chúng' could be postulated as a contraction of early M 'tamen' where /t-/ ~ /ch-/ and /-men/ ~ /-owng/.
chôn	to bury	Old Mon /tip/, Modern Mon /tuip/, Danaw /plu4/, Riang White and Black /plu-/, Old Khmer /kap/, Sakai /tapn/, Semang /tam/, Malay /taman/, Bahar /tâp/, Biat /tǒp/, Srê /təp/, Khasi /tep/, Mundari /topa/, Nicobarese /olō/.	葬 zàng (SV táng, VS tang, chôn) | M 葬 zàng < MC tsaŋ < OC *tsaŋ, *ʔsaːŋs	****While the V 'chôn' and the C 葬 zàng are cognate, all other forms also appear to show similar sound change patterns being cognates.
chó	dog	Viet. /chó/, Old Mon /clew/, /cluiw/, Modern Mon /kluiw/, Danaw /tso1/, Riang White and Black /sʿɔʔ-/, Palaung /ă\ʔoʔ1/, Wa /soʔ1/, Old Khmer cke, Sakai /cho/, Semang /āsūʔ/, Malay /asu/, Srê /sɔ/, P'uman /shaw/, T'eng /soʔ/, Khasi /ksew/, War /ksiā/, Mundari /seta/, Savara /sōr/, /kinsor/ Gadaba /kussō/, Kurku tsītā/	狗 gǒu (SV cẩu, VS chó, cầy) | M QT 狗 gǒu < MC kjəw < OC *ko:ʔ | Wiktionary: Etymology: From some language ancestral to modern Hmong-Mien languages, from Proto-Hmong-Mien *qluwˣ (“dog”), perhaps from Proto-Austronesian *(u-)(ŋ)kuɣkuɣ (“dog”) (Norman, 1988; Benedict, 1996).  Alternatively, STEDT derives this from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d-kʷəj-n (“dog”), whence also 犬 (OC *kʰʷeːnʔ). <br /><br />Note:  Việtcổ /kro/, Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *cɔ ̃ *cǝ(ʔ)ɔ, Thai: ʔcɔ:.A year of dog, Proto-Katuic: *cɔ, Proto-Bahnaric: *cɔ, Khmer: OK co < Viet. For Proto-Viet **kro, see elaboration on the etymology in the above section.	****There is no doubt that all the forms above are cognates, including the Chin. 狗 gǒu, cf. 'cầy' as in 'cầytơ' 小狗 xiăogǒu (SV tiểucẩu).
chín	nine	Old Mon /dincit/, Modern Mon /dacit/, Danaw /tsən4/, Riang White /tɪ:m/, Black /tɪm/, Palaung /tɪ:m2/, Wa /dɪ:m2/	九 jǐu (SV cửu, VS chín) || M 九 jǐu, jīu, qíu (cửu, cưu) < MC kuw < OC *kuʔ || Wiktionary: Wiktionary: Pictogram (象形) – a stylized hand, with bent wrist/forearm (hence the hook stroke at lower right). Earlier forms resemble 手 (shǒu), 寸 (cùn). The original meaning of the glyph was “elbow”, which is now written 肘 (OC *tkuʔ). After the meaning “elbow” was forgotten, 九 was taken to symbolize a fist tightening to bump up against something; thus, there is a metaphorical bumping up of nine against ten, which is the last number when counting on one's fingers. Etymologically, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *d/s-kəw. Compare Tibetan དགུ (dgu).	***If all other Vietnamese numbers are not cognate to those of Chin. etyma, then this is only another speculation along with 'six' 六 lìu and probably 'two' 二 èr and 'three' 三 sān.
chín	ripe, cooked	Viet. /chín/ cin- Aorist prefix?, modern Mon. /ɗu/, /cin/, Danaw /ătsɛ`n4/, Riang White /sʿɪ:n/, Black /sʿɪn/, Palaung /si:n2/, Wa /ʃi:n2/ (=cooked); /tɤm2/ (=ripe), Khmer /cʿăʔin/, Sakai /chêtn/, Besisi /machin/, Semang /inchen/, Nicobarese /ishɪan/, Srê /sǐn/, Mnong Gar /sɯm/, Bahnar /ʃim/, T'eng /sin/, Mundari /isin/.	熟 shú (SV thuộc, VS chín, rục, 'well cooked') | M 熟 shú, shóu (thục, thuộc) < MC dʑuwk < OC *djɯwɢ	**The VS 'chín' is clearly cognate to other Mon-Khmer forms while the Chinese lexeme shows a parallel in the initial phoneme only, which may point to something else similar in the Sino-Tibetan languages as in many cases such as 'rắn' (snake), 'lòng' (heart), 'năm' (number 5), etc.,  since in VS there is the antonym 'sống' (live, raw) which is affirmatively cognate to the C 生 shēng (SV 'sanh') and 'tái' (Hainanese /te1/, 'uncooked, raw').
chè	tea	No Old Mon, mod. lak(pʿak), Danaw /mi:n2/, Riang White /myɛ`m\ /, Blak /mɛ`m\ /, Palaung /myɛ`m2/, Wa /lɑ2/, Burmese /lak/, /-phak/	茶 chá (SV trà, VS chè) | M 茶 chá < MC ɖaɨ < OC *rlaː | Note: per Starostin: 'tea' (Han). See notes to 荼. Viet. chè is colloquial; the regular Sino-Viet. form is trà | FQ 宅加	******The Vietnamese and Chinese forms are clearly cognate and sound similarly while others diverge greatly. This etymon might have an Yue origin since tea was a product of China South with its homebase had been in today's Fujian Province.
chân	foot, leg	Viet. /chân/, Old and Modern Mon /juŋ/, Danaw /kɔʔ\ /, Riang White /tjɔ:ŋ\ /, /tsɔŋ\ /, Palaung /djɑn2/, /djén2/ Wa /tjɑuŋ2/, Old Khmer /jeŋ/, Sakai /jukn, Besisi /joŋ/, Semang /chān/, Old Javanese /joŋ/, Shom Peng /chuk/, Bahnar /jəŋ/, P'u-man /chin/, T'eng /yươŋ/, Khsi /kiat/, Mundari /jaŋga/, Savara /talljeŋ/, Gadaba /susuŋ/, Kurkur /nāŋgā/	足 zú (SV túc, VS giò, 'leg') and 腳 jiăo (SV cước, VS chân , 'foot') | M  足 zú, jù < MC tsuawk < OC *soɡ, *ʔsoɡs || M 腳 jiăo, jué < MC kɨak < OC *kaɡ	***While it appears that the VS /chân/ is cognate to those in other languages – cross different linguistic families – the Chinese forms are also cognate to VS /chân/ 'leg' and /giò/, respectively.
cháu	grandchild	Viet. /cháu/, Old Mon /cow/, mod. /cau/, Ranaw /tapli4/, Riang Black White /pli-/, Palaung /hlan3/, Wa /kɔn4 sɑ'əʔ/, Old Khmer /cau/, Sakai /chěn-oʔ/, Besisi /kin-chu/, Semang /kanchɔʔ/, Malay /chuchu/, Bahnar /sâu/, T'eng /jeʔ/, Khasi /khsiw/, Old Burmese /mliy/	姪 zhí (SV điệt, VS cháy) | M 姪 (侄) zhí < MC trɦit < OC *drit | Wiktionary: Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *diːɡ, *diɡ): semantic 女 (“woman”) + phonetic 至 (OC *tjiɡs). Etymologically, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b/m-ləj (“grandchild; nephew”) + [Term?] (“nominalizing final”). Cognate with Burmese မြေး (mre:, “grandchild”).	***The modern Chinese M /zhí/ appears to be similar to the Vietnamese form. With other forms cited can also be postulated to be cognate to V 'cháu', we could wonder if it is the same case as /pa/, /ma/, /mat/, /miao/, etc., in the world's languages. For Chinese 姪 zhí (of the same surname), nephew, brother's son,  (originally only of a woman, but also of a man after the Jìn Dynasty), grandson, granddaughter, niece,
chày	pestle	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /ri/, Danaw /tsʿɔŋ1réʔ3/, Riang White /tɤn\rɛ'ʔ-/, Black /rɛ'ʔ-/, Palaung /ŋ2gɑ'i2/, /ŋ2géi2/, Wa /ŋrgriʔ3/, Khmer /aŋrai/, Sakai /rentik/, Biat /rʾnai/, Mnong Gar /rnɛ'/, Bahnar /adrih/, /adrey/, T'eng /kəndré/, /cəndré/, /ndre/, Khasi synrei/	杵 chǔ (SV xử, VS chày) | M 杵 chǔ < MC tɕʰiɔ < OC *ŋ̥ʰjaʔ | ¶ /ch- ~ j-(d-)/ | Ex. 杵臼 chǔjìu (VS cốichày.)	***The V 'chày' and the C 杵 chǔ make a much more close a cognate than the rest.
chuột	rat	Old and Modern Mon /kni/, Danaw /kăné1,2/, Riang White /kʿrɔm-/, Black /kəbu-/, /kʿrɔm-/, Palaung /hnɔ'i2/, Wa /kiaŋ2/, Sakai /kaněh/, Semang /kaneʾ/, Srê /ɗɛ`/, Bahnar /kənɛ`/, T'eng /kənéʔ/, Khasi /khnai/, Mundari /huni/	鼠 shǔ (SV thử, VS chuột) | M 鼠 shǔ < MC ɕɨə̆ < OC *hljaʔ | Etymology: According to Starostin, OC *l^h (normally yielding t.h, but here having given a dialectal reflex *s/h- > s/-) is reconstructed on the basis of Min forms: Xiamen chu3, Chaozhou chy3, Fuzhou, Jianou chu3. STEDT, on the other hand, compares 鼠 (OC *hljaʔ) to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-jəw-n (“rat; rabbit; hare”). Cf. 子 zī, zǐ, zì, zí, zi, cí (SV tử, tý, VS chuột) < MC tsɨ < OC *ʔslɯʔ	******While there is no cognate with the Mon-Khmer forms, there is no doubt that the Chin. /shǔ/ and VS 'chuột' are cognate, including that of the doublet of Chin. 子 zǐ in the 12 animal zodiac table. See also elaboration on 'sóc' (squirrel).
chimcông	peafowl	Old Mon /mrek/, /mrā/, Danaw (<Burmese), Riang White and Black /prāk\ /, Palaung /brɑʔ3/, Wa /kɑ'ɯŋ2/, Malay /měrak/, Cham /amrak/, Biat /brak/, T'eng /kuóŋ/...)	孔雀 kǒngquè (SV khổngtước, VS chimcông | M 孔 kǒng < MC khúŋ < OC *kʰloːŋʔ | M 雀 què, qiăo, qiāo (SV tước, VS sóc, chimsóc, chim) < MC tsɨak < OC *ʔsewɢ	***Obviously the VS 'chimcông' is the Chinese form in reverse order. Some more forms in other languages listed for this item are omitted for their being unrelated to Vietnamese.
chim	bird	Viet. /chɪm/, Old Mon /kiñcem/, mod. gacem, Danaw /tsən4/, Riang White /si:m/, Black /sim/, Palaung /sim2/, Wa /ʃi:m2/, Sakai /chēp/, /chēm/, Biat /chɪum/, Srê /sɪm/, Bahnar /sɛm, T'eng /sim/, Khasi /sim/ War /ksem/, Mundari /sīm/ (=fowl), Kurku /ʃɪm(fowl), Sav /kansɪm/ (fowl)	禽 qín  (SV cầm, VS chim) | M 禽 (擒) qín < MC gim < OC *ɡrɯm (modern M niăo 鳥), dialects: Hainanese /jiăo/ is the sound for 'chim', Chaozhou: ʑin12, Wenzhou: ʑiaŋ12, Shuangfeng: ʑin12 | According to Starostin: the character 禽 qín is more frequently used since L.Zhou with the meaning 'wild bird(s)' ('something caught'), whereas for the meaning 'to catch, capture', SV 'cầm', VS 'giam' one uses the character 擒	***It looks like all forms are cognates, including that of Chinese.
bụng	heart, mind, feelings	Old Mon /pumas/, Modern Mon /tma3/, Danaw /ruɔt2/, Riang White /kɪ:ŋ-kɤnuas\, Black/kɪ:ŋ-kənuas\ /, Palaung /nɔh3/, /nɑuh3/, Wa /rɔm2/, T'eng /ʿñươm/, Khasi /jingmut/	腹 fù (SV phúc, VS bụng) | M 腹 fù < MC puwk < OC *pug | Wiktionary: from Proto-Vietic *buːŋʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *buŋ() ~ *buuŋʔ. Cognate with Khmer ពុង (pung), Mon ဗုၚ် (pɜ̀ŋ), Thai พุง (pung).	****The Danaw form /ruɔt2/ is exactly what appears as VS 'ruột' while Old Mon form /pumas/ points to VS 'bụng' which, in turn, is cognate to Chin. 腹 fù.
bốn	four	Viet. /bốn/, Old Mon /pan/ mod. /pan/, Danaw /pən/, Palaung /p'Un/, Wa /pɔl2, pɔn2/, Old Khmer /pon/, Mundari /upun/, Bhnar /pūən/	四 sì (SV tứ, VS tư, bốn) || M 四 (亖) sì < MC sɨ < OC *hljids | Etymology: Sino-Tibetan : Protoform: *lij, *pij. Meaning: four. Chinese: 四 *slhij-s. Tibetan: bz/i four. Burmese: lijh four, LB *(b)lijx. Kachin: m@li1 four. Lushei: li four, KC *b-n-d'-li\. Kiranti: *bhli/ ( / *bha/li). Comments: PG *pli\L; BG: Garo bri, Dimasa biri; Kanauri po; Moshang ba<>-li; Namsangia be< -li; Thulung bli; Digaro k@prei; Miri phli; Trung bli2. Simon 19; Sh. 125, 134, 407, 434; Ben. 94; Mat. 184. | According to Starostin, for early OC a reconstruction *slhits is also possible. Vietnamese has a peculiar tone opposition: tứ 'four' - tư 'fourth' (cf. analogically for 二 'two'). ||	***As 一 yī', 二 èr, and 三 sān could be associated with VS 'một', hai', and 'ba', respectively, if there is no general consensus in the linguist circle about the Vietnamese numbers one to five to be cognate to those in Mon-Khmer, Chin. 四 sì still could be included for investigation then.
bọt	foam	Viet. /bọt/, No Old Mon, mod. /tʿaɓuih/, Danaw /lɑk4pUət5(u:n4)/, Riang White and Black /bus-?, Palaung /buh2/, Wa /m bɑi2/, Khmer /babuh/, Semang /cheʾbug/, /baʾbug/, Makay /bueh/, Biat /mʾbūh/, Mundari /moto/	泡 pào (SV pháo, VS bọt) | M 泡 pào, pāo (bào, bàu, pháo) < MC baɨw, pʰaɨw < OC *phru:s, *m̥ʰruːs, *bruː	****Beside those cognates in other languages, the Chinese and Vietnamese forms are lookalikes, too.
bế	to carry on back	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /bā/, Danaw /bɔʔ4,2/, Riang White /pɑʔ\ /, Black /bɔʔ\ /, Palaung /bɑ‘u2/, Wa /puʔ1/, Mnong Gar /bɑʔ/, Khasi /bah/.	抱 bāo (SV bão, VS bế, bồng, 'carry with one’s arm') | M 抱 bào, bāo, fóu, páo, póu < MC baw < OC *bu:ʔ  | cf. Hainanese /bong2/ 捧 pēng (SV phụng, VS bưng, 'carry with both hands')	****All the Mon-Khmer forms point to the V ‘bồng’ which is in turn cognate also to the Chin. 抱 bāo. To mean ‘to carry on back’, the Vietnamese has the word ‘vác’ (for objects) which is cognate to the C 背 bèi (SV bối) and 負 fù (SV phụ).
bắn	shoot (with bow)	Viet /bắn/, Old Mon /pañ/, Modern Mon /pan/, Danaw /pəiŋ4/, Riang White and Black /pəiñ-/, Palaung /pɑiŋ2/, Wa /púiñ2/, Old Khmer /pañ/, Malay /panah/ (bow), Nicobarese /fɑiŋ/ (crossbow), Biat /pañ/, Mnong Gar /pɛñ/, Bahnar /pɛŋ/, T’eng /piñ/, Lemet /piŋ/.	放 fàng (SV phóng, VS bắn) | M 放 fàng < MC pwoŋ < OC *paŋʔ, *paŋs || Example: 放槍 fàngqiāng (bắnsúng, 'shoot a gun')	****All forms are cognate including that of the Chinese. (2)
bảy	seven	Old Mon /dumpoh/, Modern Mon /t'apah/, Danaw /pat4/, Palaung /pu2/, Sakai /tempo/, Bahnar /təpət/, Srê /pɔh/, Piat /pôh/, P'aman /p'ua/, Lemet /pul/	七 qī (SV thất), VS bảy | M 七 (柒) qī < MC tsʰit < OC *sn̥ʰid	*Like 四 sì, 七 qī is another highly speculative case for SV 'thất' ~ VS 'bảy'. In Khmer, like six, there is no seven, neither eight, nine, nor ten.
bạc	silver	Viet. /tiền/, Old Mon /srañ/, Modern Mon /sran/, Danaw /rɤn2/, /hrɤn2/, Riang White /ron\ /, Black /ron\ /,/rUn\ /, Palaung /rɤŋ2/, Wa /mɑɯ2/, T'eng /srǐl/, (gold, silver), Kʿmu /srǐl/, /sěrin/ (gold), Darang /rǒn/, Katurr /ron/	白銀 báiyín (SV bạchngân), 錢 qián (SV tiền) | M 白 bái, bó, bà, băi, zì < MC bɐk < OC *brak | M 錢 qián < MC tsjen < OC *ʑan | Note: Viet. 'bạc' could be from 鉑 bó or a clipping of M 白銀 báiyín.	***Luce’s comparanda were intended to represent basic vocabulary, yet all of the cited Vietnamese etyma in this set ultimately derive from Chinese forms. If ‘gold’ is to be included, the Vietnamese form vàng appears as a clipping of 黃金 huángjīn, corresponding to VS /vàng/ and the character 鋆 yún (SV quân) ‘gold’. By the same pattern, VS bạc may be understood as a parallel clipping, either from 白金 báijīn or from 鉑 bó (SV bạc).
bươmbướm	butterfly	No Old Mon, Modern Mon /puŋkamū/ (butterfly soul), Danaw /pɔŋ2pɑʔ3/, Riang White and Black /puŋ-pɑʔ-/, Palaung /kɑʔ1la1/, Wa /pɑi4pyaŋ2/, T'eng /pam/	蝴蝶 húdié (SV hồđiệp) ~ 粉蝶  fěndié (SV phấnđiệp, VS bươmbướm) | Wiktionary: Etymologically, from Proto-Vietic *paːmʔ. Cognates including Proto-Pong *paːm³, Thổ pəmpɨam³, Hoàbình Muong pɨəm¹ pɨəm³, Sơnla Muong pɨəm³, Thanhhoá Muong bɨəm³, Muong Bi pươmpưởm. Compare also Khmu (Cuang) tlaːmpaːm. Per G.H. Luce's comparanda: Mon: puŋ kamū (butterfly soul), Danaw /t'ănɔʔ/: pɔŋ2paʔ5, Riang /rəyaŋ/ : pɔŋ_paʔ_, Palaung: pɔŋ_paʔ_, Wa (Tungva) pɑĩpyaŋ2 ; Ilya Peiros: Proto-Zhuang-Tai: *ʔbɨa.C, Siamese: LAO -bɨa.3, Lungchow: NUNG bua.3 ~> Viet. 'bướm'	*The Vietnamese bướm is plausibly cognate with T’eng /pam/ and with the initial syllable /puŋ/ in Mon, while the reduplicated form bươmbướm aligns with other parallels. By contrast, the Chinese form /húdié/ shows no apparent relation, unless one were to posit a hypothetical proto‑form such as /bombjem/. Interestingly, several Austronesian languages exhibit strikingly similar etyma to bươmbướm: Proto‑Eastern‑Oceanic /mpe(e)mpe(e)/, Fijian /beebee/, Samoan /pepe/, New Zealand Māori /pê/, /pepe/, and Rotuman /pêpa/. The evidence is difficult to interpret with certainty, but the most plausible inference is that the Vietnamese forms may ultimately reflect an Austronesian origin.
bôngsợi	cotton yarn, thread	Old Mon /tol/ (< Samskrit), Modern Mon /tow/, Danaw /lu1/, Riang White and Black /luʔ-/, Palaung /sɑŋ2/, /sen2/, Khasi /ksai/, Sanskrit /tūla/	棉線 miánxiàn (SV miêntuyến, VS sợibông) | M 棉 (綿) mián < MC mjen < OC *men | M 線 (綫) xiàn < MC sian < OC *sqʰeːns	*While there is no correlation in other languages and the Vietnamese form 'bông' once reduced from Chin. 棉 mián, then the compound 棉線 miánxiàn can give rise to VS 'bôngsợi' and 'sợibông' in reverse order.
bông	flower	Old Mon /pkāw/,/pluh/, Modern Mon /pkaw/, /raŋ/, Danaw /puɑŋ1po4/, /po4/, Riang White /pɤdɑk-/, /pɔ-/, Black /dɑk-/, /pɔ-/, Palaung /dɑk-/, /ɓɔh3/, Wa /tɑi2/, /pruh5tɑi2/, Old Khmer /pkā/, Sakai /běkáu/, Srê, Bahnar /bɔkao/, T'eng /raŋ/ Lemet /raŋ/, Khasi /phuh/ (=blossom)	葩 pā (SV ba, VS bông) | (1) M 葩 (苩) pā < MC pʰaɨ < OC *pʰraː | (2) M 花 huā (SV hoa, Cant. 花 (蘤) /fa1/ < 花 huā < MC hwaɨ < OC *hʷra	****The variant forms in different languages show that they are cognate to each other while at the same time the Vietnamese /bông/ also points to the Chin. 葩 pā and 花 huā forms as its cognates.
bóng	shadow of living creature	Old Mon /sumdiŋ/, Modern Mon /samniŋ/, Danaw /tɔŋ2bui4/, Riang White and Black /poé-/, Palaung /rUm3/ (=shade), Wa /(kɔn)pɤi2/, Old Khmer /sramol/, Mundari /umbul/	影 yǐng (SV ảnh, VS bóng) | M  影 yǐng < MC ʔiajŋ < OC *qraŋʔ | For ¶ /y- ~ b-/, cf. 照影 zhàoyǐng VS 'soibóng' (cast a shadow), 郵 yóu SV 'bưu' (postal), 由 yóu 'bởi' (by), 柚 yóu 'bưởi' (pomelo), 游 yóu 'bơi' (swim), 案 àn 'bàn' (table), 按 àn 'bấm' (press), etc.	***The Chinese form is clearly cognate to the VS 'bóng' along side of some other Luce's comparanda.
bà	grandma	Old Mon /abow/ (?), Modern Mon /bau/, Danaw /yaʔ1/, Riang White and Black /yaʔ\ /, Palaung /yā2/, Wa /yeʔ3/, /yaʔ3/, Old Khmer /aji/, Mundari /jia/	婆 pó (SV bà) | M 婆 pó < MC bwa < OC *ba:l | Note: In Chinese, 婆 pó corresponds to Vietnamese bà, which broadly denotes ‘woman, old woman’. More specifically, bà functions as the kinship term ‘grandmother’. In Vietnamese, bàngoại (外婆 wàipó, SV ngoạibà) designates the maternal grandmother, while bà alone can serve as a shortened form for both maternal and paternal grandmothers. By contrast, Chinese has a well‑established form 外婆 wàipó for the maternal grandmother, but only dialectal 內婆 nèipó (VS bànội) for the paternal grandmother. In modern Mandarin, the usual term for paternal grandmother is 奶奶 nǎinai, which has no direct Vietnamese cognate. This asymmetry parallels the case of ôngngoại discussed above, where the maternal line shows a stronger lexical correspondence between Chinese and Vietnamese than the paternal line.	*****'bà', 'bànội', 'bàngoại' are doubtless from Chinese with the VS 'bà' cognate to Chin. 婆 pó. Meanwhile, the /ye/ and /ya/ forms somehow look like '爺爺 yéye 'paternal grandpa'. In all probabilities they may not be related at all for the form /yeye/ that is common in many languages.
bay	ye	No listings for modern and Old Mon, Danaw /pɤ1/, Riang White /péʔ-/, Blak /péʔ-/, Palaung /pɛ`2/, Wa /pɛ'1/, T'eng bò, Khasi phʾ, Maundari /pe/. See 'mày'	你們 nǐmén (SV nimôn, VS bọnmày, bọnbay > bay)	**'bay' is a variant of 'mày' as in Vietnamese 'tụibay' ~ 'tụimày', 'bọnbay' ~ 'bọnmày', that could be possibly cognate to '你們 nǐmén (SV nimôn) where 們 mén ~ 'bọn' and 你 nǐ ~ 'mầy', hence ~> 'bay', etc.
bay	to fly	Old Mon /par/, Modern Mon /paw/, Danaw /pan4/, Riang White /pɤr-/, Black /pər-/, Palaung /kăpɛ`h3/, Wa /pu2/, Khmer /hör/, Semang /kěpuih/, Nicobarese /hēh/, Stieng /par/, Biat /mʾpăr/, Srê /par/, /gēpăr/, Bahnar /păr/, /təpăr/, P’uman /pʿwa/, T’eng /tɯr/, K’mu /tar/, Khasi /her/, Mundari /apit/.	飛 fēi (SV phi, VS bay) | M QT 飛 fēi < MC pwyj < OC *pjəj, *pɯl	****Except for a few exceptions, all forms are cognate to each other, including that of Chinese. (1)
ba, bố	father	Old Mon /amba/, /abaʾ/, Modern Mon /ma/, Danaw /pɑ4/, Old Khmer /vāpa/, Old Javanese and Malayan /bapa/, Khasi /kpa/, Mundar /aba'/	父 fù (SV phụ, VS bố) | M QT 父 fù, fǔ (phụ, phủ) < MC pio < OC *paʔ, *baʔ | Note: Both Chinese and Vietnamese 'ba' is 爸 bā (SV ba) and 父 fù (SV phụ) for  'bố'	******While /pa/ and /ma/ are similar to almost all languages on earth, all other forms in Luce's lists are cognates while the Chin. 父 fù and VS 'bố' forms stand out by themselves.
ba	three	Old Mon /piʔ/ mod. /pi/, Old Khmer /pɪ/, Bhanar /pɛŋ/), Mundari /apɪ/	三 sān, sàn (SV tam, VS ba) || M 三 sān, sàn < MC sɑm < *OC sjə:m | cf. 仨 sā (SV ta, VS ba), 卅 sà (SV tạp, VS băm , 'thirty-', 卅二 sā'èr (SV tạpnhị), VS bămhai, 'thirty-two').	**Like "một" ('one' 一 yī SV nhất), this Chinese etymon could have been a plausible candidate with or without the cognate number 'bốn' ('four' where it does not appear to be related to C 四 sì but Bhanar /pɛŋ/) if what follows it does not break up the pattern as compared with the others. the Vietnamese cognate, hence, is not included in this item. In historical linguistic, loanwords or words of the same root might deviate the meaning of the related etyma as in several languages, numeral cognates could be limited to two numbers. Similarly, the same postulation could be applied to the form 'two'.
ai	I	Old Mon /ey/, Modern Mon /ʾai/, Danaw /oʔ1/, Riang White /oʔ-/, Black /oʔ-/, Palaung /ɑ2/, Wa /ɑəʔ1/, Old Khmer /añ/, Bahnar /iñ/, Khasi /nga/, War /ñia/, Mundari /aiŋ, iŋ, iñ/, Kurku /iŋ/	咱 zá (SV tá, VS ta) | Cf. 'tao', 'tôi' M 我 wǒ < MC ŋa < OC *ŋa:lʔ | Note: cf. Vietnamese tao, tôi. Compare also 我 wǒ < MC ŋa < OC ŋaːlʔ. Notably, Chinese preserves several additional characters for the first‑person pronoun that may be related to Vietnamese forms. One such item is 俺 ǎn, án, which in older and colloquial usage (> VS ai) functioned as a self‑referential pronoun. This form remains especially common in the northeast dialects of China and is frequently attested in the great vernacular novels such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義) and Water Margin (水滸傳). In these contexts, 俺 is used by a speaker to refer to themselves when addressing an elder or superior. In Vietnamese, this usage resonates with em — literally ‘younger sibling,’ but also a humble self‑addressing pronoun meaning ‘I’ in deferential contexts.	***'Ai' is a Proto-Vietic form which is cognate to those variants in all Mon-Khmer languages. In the meanwhile the Chin. 我 wǒ, SV 'ngã', seems to be recent development. However, if V 'qua' /wa/ is taken into consideration, the Vietnamese form then is cognate to the Chin. 我 wǒ.
Xiêm	Shan	Viet. /xiêm/, Mon mod. /sem/, Riang White and Black /sʿɛm-/, Palaung /sɪm2/, Wa /ʃiɛ`m2/, Old Khmer /syām/, Malay /sɪam/, Biat /chiăm/, P'u-man sien/, Old Burmese /syam/	暹 Xián (SV Xiêm, 'Siam') <~ '暹羅 Xiánluó (SV Tiêmla, VS Xiêmla)	****VS 'Xiêm' is clearly derived from the Chinese form. In English it is also transcribed as 'Siam' but it does not denote the same nominal 'Shan' as of people.
Miến	Burmese	Old Mon /mirmār/, Modern Mon /bamā/, Danaw /mlan2/, Riang White /mɤrɑn/, Black /məran/, Palaung /brɑn/, /brɔn/, Old Burmese /mranmā/, Chinese /mien/, Shan man	緬 Miàn (SV Miến) <~ 緬甸 Miăndiàn (SV Miếnđiện)	*****Like 'Xiêm' or ''Miên' (Khmer), V 'Miến' is such called after that of the same word in Chinese.
Hẹ	Chinese	Mon mod. /kruk/, Danaw /ché4/, Riang White and Black /kʿɛ`-/, Palaung /kɛ`3/, Wa /hɔʔ1/, Old Burmese /taruk/	客 Kè < 客家 Kèjiā (SV kháchgia, VS cácchú, 'Hakka' | M 客 kè < MC kʰaɨjk < OC *kʰraːɡ | M 家 jiā, gū, jie (gia, cô) < MC kaɨ < OC *kra:	****Another term 'Chệt', derogatory, though, is another possibility. VS 'cácchú' from Hakka is another word for 客家 Kèjiā.

Footnotes:

1. The central question, as with other etyma of similar nature, is whether these forms ultimately derive from a common root or whether their resemblance is merely coincidental.

2. Specialists, when confronted with recurring patterns, often privilege phonetic proximity. As a result, Chinese dialectal forms are sometimes overlooked, even though their cognacy presents a strong case for inclusion. Such instances, like other comparable etyma, plausibly point to a shared origin.

3. Cases in which Mon‑Khmer forms are cognate with a Chinese form but remain distant from the Vietnamese equivalent are rare. Is this rarity itself coincidental, or does it suggest a deeper historical alignment?

4. Conversely, when Vietnamese and Chinese forms are cognate with each other but not with Mon‑Khmer parallels, the likelihood is that no genuine Vietnamese cognate exists for the latter.

Table 1B - The case of 蠅 yíng ‘fly’

1) Structure and formation 蠅 is a phono‑semantic compound (形聲): semantic element 虫 ‘insect’ + phonetic 黽 (OC *mlenʔ, *mliŋʔ, *mreːŋʔ). The Old Chinese value is often reconstructed as *b·lɯŋ. Etymology and Cognates The word ultimately derives from Proto‑Sino‑Tibetan *mrəŋ ‘fly; bee’. Cognate comparisons include: 虻 (OC mˁraŋ) ‘horsefly’ Tibetan སྦྲང་བུ sbrang bu ‘bee’ Japhug ɣʑo ‘bee’ (STEDT; Coblin 1986; Benedict 1972; Zhang, Jacques & Lai 2019). 2) Reconstruction debates Schuessler (2007) proposes “minimal” OC *ləŋ or *jəŋ. ləŋ can be derived from the sound law *l‑ < *ml‑ < *m‑r‑ (Baxter & Sagart 2014), consistent with the 黽 phonetic series and Min reflexes. jəŋ would align with Burmese ယင် yang ‘fly’ and Chepang याङ् yāṅ ‘fly’, but this conflicts with internal Chinese evidence and is less sustainable. Starostin glosses 蠅 simply as ‘fly’. 3) Vietnamese Reflexes lằng ‘bluebottle’ is archaic, reflecting a form like WH *l@ŋ. nhặng ‘bluebottle’ is a later loan from the same source, with nh‑ reflecting MC j‑ through nasal assimilation. Regular Sino‑Vietnamese is dăng. Mei‑Ling Tsu notes that ruồi reflects Proto‑AA ruwaj ‘fly’, a very old Austroasiatic root. 4) Mon‑Khmer Parallels Forms are widely distributed: Khmer rouy Lawa rue Mon rùy Chaobon rùuy Kuy ʔaruəy Souei ʔɑrɔɔy Brur rùay Ngeʔ, Alak, Tampuon rɔɔy Loven, Brao, Stieng ruay Chong rɔʔy Pear roy Comparable forms also appear in the Munda branch (Pinnow, p. 268, item 356). 5) Chu Dialect Evidence The Chu dialect used 維虫 rwəi ‘fly’, attested in the Chuyu 楚語 section of the Guoyu 國語: 亡虫 維虫 之 既 多 “Many gnats and flies.” The phonetic 維 provides a clue to the OC value. In Middle Chinese, 維 has the 喻四 (yü IV) initial. Li Fang‑kuei argued this reflects a flapped r‑ or l‑, still preserved in Proto‑Tai and some modern dialects. Finals: reconstructed as –d (Dong Tong‑he, Li Fang‑kuei) or –r (Karlgren). By the Guoyu period, this had likely shifted to –i. In Li’s system, hekou/kaikou distinctions (with or without –u‑/‑w‑) are non‑phonemic. He reconstructs 維 as rəd. 6) Implications Two scenarios emerge: OC lacked a phonemic –w‑. The best approximation of the Austroasiatic rounded vowel was *rəi < rəd. OC had a non‑phonemic –w‑, yielding rwəi. Either way, the Chu dialect form 維虫 shows how Chinese adapted an Austroasiatic word for ‘fly’, aligning with the widespread AA root *ruwaj.

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Table 1C - The Case of bươmbướm

The Vietnamese lexeme bướm / bươmbướm presents a particularly rich case of cross‑family convergence. On the one hand, its Proto‑Vietic ancestry (paːmʔ) is well supported by Muong and Khmuic reflexes; on the other, its reduplicated form resonates strongly with Austronesian expressive patterns (pepe, beebee, pêpa). Meanwhile, Chinese 蝴蝶 (húdié) and its Old Chinese variants (蝶, 蜨, 蛺蝶) derive from a distinct Sino‑Tibetan root lep/ljap ‘flat, thin’ or *s‑ljap ‘flash, glitter’, which also underlies Tibetan leb and Burmese hlap/hlyap.

To keep the discussion accessible, Table 1C below distills the key correspondences into a concise comparative snapshot. For readers seeking the full etymological dossier — including Proto‑Vietic reconstructions, Muong dialectal forms, Khmuic, Monic, Palaungic, Waic, Zhuang‑Tai, and the detailed Sino‑Tibetan and Austronesian parallels — see Table 1C‑Appendix, which preserves the extended comparanda as recorded in Wiktionary and related sources.

Language / Family	Form(s)	Gloss	Notes
Vietnamese (VS)	bướm, bươmbướm	butterfly	Core VS lexeme; reduplicated form parallels Austronesian expressive reduplication.
Mon‑Khmer	T’eng /pam/; Mon /puŋ/	butterfly	Suggests cognacy with VS bướm; reduplicated bươmbướm aligns with Austroasiatic expressive forms.
Chinese (Sinitic)	蝴蝶 /húdié/; 蝶 (OC l’eːb), 蜨 (OC seːb)	butterfly	No direct relation to VS bướm unless positing proto‑form /bombjem/; Sino‑Tibetan root lep/ljap ‘flat, thin’ or *s‑ljap ‘flash, glitter’.
Tibetan	ཕྱེ་མ་ལེབ (phye ma leb)	butterfly	leb ‘flat, thin’; parallels PST ljap.
Burmese	လိပ်ပြာ (lippra)	butterfly	Related to hlap ‘thin’ and hlyap ‘flash’; ties to PST ljap / s‑ljap.
Austronesian	Proto‑Eastern‑Oceanic /mpe(e)mpe(e)/; Fijian beebee; Samoan pepe; Māori pē, pepe; Rotuman pêpa	butterfly	Strong reduplicative parallels to VS bươmbướm; suggests Austronesian expressive origin.

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Table 1D ‑ Appendix - Extended Comparative Data (after Wiktionary)

Stratum	Form(s)	Gloss	Notes
Proto‑Vietic	paːmʔ	butterfly	Source of VS bướm.
Muong dialects	Thổ pəmpɨam³; Hoàbình pɨəm¹ pɨəm³; Sơnla pɨəm³; Thanhhoá bɨəm³; Muong Bi pươmpưởm	butterfly	Show reduplicative and phonological variation.
Khmuic	Khmu (Cuang) tlaːmpaːm	butterfly	Cognate with Proto‑Vietic paːmʔ.
Monic / Palaungic / Waic	Mon puŋ kamū ‘butterfly soul’; Danaw */t'ănɔʔ/ pɔŋ2paʔ5; Riang pɔŋ_paʔ; Palaung pɔŋ_paʔ; Wa (Tungva) pɑĩpyaŋ2	butterfly	Luce’s comparanda; semantic link to soul/psyche.
Tai (Zhuang‑Tai)	Proto‑Zhuang‑Tai ʔbɨa.C; Lao ‑bɨa.3; Nung bua.3	butterfly	Pathway to VS bướm.
Chinese (OC/MC)	蝴蝶 MC ɦuodep < OC ɡaːl’eːb; variants 蝶 (OC l’eːb), 蜨 (OC seːb), 蛺蝶 (OC keːb l’eːb)	butterfly	Derived from proto‑form *kʰleːp ~ ɦleːp, prefixed from root lep.
Proto‑Sino‑Tibetan roots	ljap ‘thin, flat’; s‑ljap ‘flash, glitter’	—	Basis for Chinese 蝶, Tibetan leb, Burmese hlap/hlyap.
Tibetan	ཕྱེ་མ་ལེབ (phye ma leb)	butterfly	leb ‘flat, thin’.
Burmese	လိပ်ပြာ (lippra)	butterfly	Related to hlap ‘thin’, hlyap ‘flash’.
Austronesian	Proto‑Austronesian kali‑, qali‑ (spirit prefix); Proto‑Eastern‑Oceanic /mpe(e)mpe(e)/; Fijian beebee; Samoan pepe; Māori pē, pepe; Rotuman pêpa	butterfly	Reduplicative forms parallel VS bươmbướm.

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The extensive comparanda compiled by Luce illustrate the Mon-Khmer substratum underlying 245 basic words in Danaw, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by a hill tribe in Burma. Many of these items are mixed lexicons, incorporating loanwords from multiple linguistic families. What matters most for our discussion are those Mon-Khmer substratum forms that resemble Danaw vocabulary and, at the same time, appear to be plausible Vietnamese cognates. These reflect the outcome of centuries of linguistic intermingling, as neighboring groups lived in close proximity while still maintaining their own identities.

Although Luce provided Vietnamese etyma (marked as Viet. /…/) only in selected entries, a significant portion of them clearly correspond to forms across different linguistic families, including Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer, Austronesian Malay, and Tibeto-Burman Danaw. At the same time, many Vietnamese basic words align more prominently with Chinese elements than with Mon-Khmer parallels. This pattern mirrors the scenarios found in the basic wordlists of Wilson (1966) and Thomas (1966, p. 194), which will be examined later in the following section.

The list above, though framed as "basic vocabulary", is not confined to the cited items alone. When combined with data from other linguistic families in the region, these etymologies provide a broad and valuable corpus for comparison. Additional lists compiled by Thomas, Wilson, and Baker complement one another and allow for further cross-examination within Mon-Khmer languages. At the same time, cognates from other Sino-Tibetan languages invite the inclusion of further Chinese etyma. For example, Chinese 水 shuǐ (VS sông, "river") is cognate with Tibetan tchu, in contrast to 川 chuān (VS suối, "stream") and the indigenous 河 hé (SV hà, Mongol ghol) and 江 jiāng (SV giang, VS sông, formerly kang, kung, kong), all meaning "river". Historically, 川 was associated with regions north of the Yangtze, while 江 was used south of it (Terrien de Lacouperie, The Languages of China Before the Chinese, London 1887; Taiwan reprint 1966, p. 103).

II) Comparative Mon-Khmer and Vietnamese basic words

Lexical correspondences between Vietnamese and other Mon-Khmer languages suggest that ancient Viet-Muong may represent the root layer. Anthropological evidence indicates that early Mon-Khmer groups in northern Vietnam had migrated from the southwest, in what is now Lower Laos. Loanwords from these ancient languages could be very basic and may have been borrowed in either direction. Etymologically, many such forms descend from Taic and Yue ancestral families that existed in southern China prior to the rise of proto-Chinese, when the so-called sixteen Bak tribes from Southwest Asia moved into the region. Their early mixed speech, later grouped under the Sino-Tibetan family, provided a foundation for further contact.

As new rulers advanced southward, they intermingled with indigenous populations in Cochin-China (Lacouperie 1887/1967). Later waves of Han-mixed Southern Yue migrants reinforced this process, and the fusion of these groups produced what became the ancient Annamese. Linguistically, the interaction of northern resettlers’ languages with local speech gave rise to the earliest form of Annamese, which gradually evolved into modern Vietnamese. Western linguistics has classified this ancient stage within the Austroasiatic family, making it a sister—or more precisely, a cousin—of Mon-Khmer. Yet Vietnamese is not Sinitic, nor does this classification necessarily prove it to be a direct descendant of Austroasiatic, as argued by the so-called Mon-Khmerists. Had Annam remained a province of China after the 10th century, its speech might today be regarded as a Chinese dialect.

The debate over “Mon-Khmerism” and its relation to Taic-Yue subfamilies recalls Merritt Ruhlen’s (1994:92) discussion of Greenberg’s Amerind hypothesis and its critics. By analogy, the Taic-Yue family may be substituted for Amerind, and Austroasiatic Mon-Khmerism for the “Bantuist” opposition. In support of an earlier Taic-Yue stratum predating Sinitic, this survey presents nearly 300 cognate words across Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer and Sino-Tibetan languages that correspond to fundamental Vietnamese vocabulary, along with grammatical elements such as prepositions and particles.

Ruhlen observed that Mon-Khmerists tended to ignore commonalities between Chinese dialects and Vietnamese, despite the presence of numerous shared core words - one, two, sky, heaven, father, mother, sister, head, eye, fire, water, eat, drink, and others - many of which also appear in his comparative tables (The Origin of Language, 1994). Strikingly, such forms are widespread in southern Chinese dialects but absent from Mon-Khmer languages of Indochina. Austroasiatic scholars have explained these similarities as the result of multilingualism and intense diffusion in Asia, prior to the southward migration of Taic-Yue groups into Indochina and Thailand.

The term Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer as the root of Vietnamese may thus be seen as a euphemism, avoiding acknowledgment of the Chinese-Yue connection identified by de Lacouperie (1887/1963) in his discussion of the Bok (百姓) and later BaiYue (百越). Similarly, the Austro-Thai hypothesis was proposed to explain parallels between Tai-Kadai languages such as Siamese and Laotian, though it never gained the same traction as Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer. The Mon-Khmerist rejection of the Taic-Yue theory for both Chinese and Vietnamese resembles earlier debates over the Sino-Tibetan family. Rather than examining China before the Chinese, Austroasiatic pioneers advanced their family model prematurely, often misunderstanding or dismissing alternative perspectives.

As Ruhlen (1994:29) noted, languages can be classified into families on the basis of shared words, which change over time through phonetic and semantic shifts. Comparative tables of Mon-Khmer and Vietnamese illustrate this principle. Yet caution is warranted: related forms are scattered across Mon-Khmer languages and do not consistently belong to the same lexical classes or categories. For example, numerals, among the most frequently borrowed items, show variation: Khmer bases its system on 1-5, while other Mon-Khmer languages count 1-10 with decimal systems.

Etymologically, similarities in the basic realm, such as vocables /ba/ and /pa/, /mama/, /mig/, /mwei/, /mua/, /mjəkw/, /myak/, /mat/... meaning the concept eye (VS mắt, 'eye'), or even fly (VS bay, 'fly') in world languages, and their parallels such as /bej/, /fej/, /par/, /pere/, /puaRR/, /p'er/, /parV/, /phur/, /apir/, /paru/, etc., could be coincidental. Such patterns are often associated with monosyllabic words and their reduplicative forms, especially those beginning with /b-/, /p-/, /m-/, /n-/, and so on. This phenomenon of apparent cognacy occurs widely across Austroasiatic, Austronesian, and Sino-Tibetan languages. Some authors interpret this as lexical residue from an ancestral mother language of all the world's languages (see Roland Breton 1991; Merritt Ruhlen 1994).

However, Chinese and Vietnamese examples such as cha and tía for Chinese 爹 diè (father), mẹ and mợ for 母 mǔ (mother), bay 飛 fei (fly), uống 飲 yǐn (drink), xơi 食 shí (eat), and others, actually belong to the basic vocabulary and are thus highly resistant to borrowing. As Ruhlen (1994:106) emphasized: "In addition to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever proposed any sound-symbolic connection between these particular meanings and any particular sequence of sounds. So if we find that one meaning is consistently represented by the same phonetic shape in many different language families, the only reasonable explanation is that all these forms have evolved from a common source." Loanwords must therefore be sifted out from vocabularies under examination, in contrast to items of true genetic affiliation.

In Vietnamese, dialectal variants of the same words have historically been reintroduced, such as cha vs. tía and mẹ vs. mợ, partly due to migratory resettlements during successive southward movements. These groups reused the same original words spoken by earlier emigrants, while also introducing new forms from unrelated languages. This process brought them closer within their geographical peripheries, for example shifting from a zero-tone language to a tonal language with two or more tones. Such migratory patterns mirrored earlier movements that split the aboriginal Chamic speakers between central Vietnam and their cousins, the Li people of Hainan, whose languages evolved into distinct Austronesian dialects. The same process recurred when early Chinese colonization disrupted the linguistic unity of the ancient Viet-Muong group.

Methodologically, linguists of Vietnamese usually began with a premise and followed common approaches - such as techniques of comparative linguistics, established by predecessors in the field to discover, classify, and enforce new theories of language families. Yet each new theory eventually replaced the previous one. It is no surprise that such an analytic methodology has been widely employed by most Vietnamese specialists in their surveys, especially when comparing Vietnamese with Mon-Khmer languages. This has often been considered the safe way to begin a career in Vietnamese historical linguistics. Newcomers in the field tended to produce similar tabulations, such as the case of Danaw, a Tibeto-Burmic language sharing many features with Mon languages, including Mon-Khmer, as cited in the wordlist provided by Luce (ibid.). From the outset, Mon-Khmer basic words made widely available by earlier Austroasiatic scholars were extensively quoted.

So what was their methodology? Typically, they examined and compared scattered basic words in Vietnamese to identify cognates in neighboring Mon-Khmer languages. However, they often left out Chinese correspondences, largely due to a lack of familiarity with that tradition.

To conduct a comparative analysis, the following table is arranged in imitation of the format used by Merritt Ruhlen (1994:44). Basic words are grouped with regional neighboring languages to illustrate how comparative linguistics has been applied to identify the supposed family affiliation of a language. The particular words here have been chosen arbitrarily to avoid personal bias, that is, not selectively chosen in favor of the abundant Chinese-Vietnamese cognates that appear in other wordlists. The words are tabulated in a way intended to be as reliable as Ruhlen's original table. For all the listings, the data are presented without elaboration, serving as an exercise worksheet for readers to identify which language the items belong to (with the hint that the single-letter abbreviation may provide guidance).

A) Comparative framework for the present table

• The table is modeled after Merritt Ruhlen (1994:44), grouping basic words with regional languages.

• Purpose: to illustrate how comparative linguistics is applied to identify supposed family affiliations.

• Word selection is arbitrary to avoid bias, not favoring the abundant Chinese-Vietnamese cognates.

• Example: inclusion of "snow" instead of "cold", "rain", or "wind", which are mostly Chinese-Vietnamese cognates.

B) Rationale and intended use

• Words are tabulated in a format designed to be as reliable as Ruhlen’s original table.

• Listings are presented without elaboration, serving as an exercise worksheet for readers.

• Readers are invited to identify the likely family affiliation of each item, with single-letter abbreviations as hints.

Table 2 - Basic words in Vietnamese and other regional Asian languages

Language	Two	Three	Bird	Eye	Give	Blood	Water	Stone	Name	Snow	Who	Say
A	njidh	səm	ghjəm	mjəkʷ	kjəp	maŋ	tujʔ	khiagw	ɕiŋ⁵¹	snhot	duj	ghwra:ts
B	nhait	sone	nghaat	myetlone	payy	shaayy	ray	kyaww kya	nar m tyaww ko	moe pw ng	a bhaalsuu sai	pwayar so
C	ˀɑɻ⁵¹	san⁵⁵	ʨin⁵	mu⁵¹	ʨj²¹⁴	huaŋ⁵	świ²¹⁴	tan⁵¹	seŋs	ɕɥ̯œ²¹⁴	świ⁵	xu̯a⁵¹
D	du	se	sae	nun	jugi	pi	mul	dol	seong	nun	nugu	malhada
F	dalawang	tatlo	ibon	mata	magbigay ng	dugo	tubig	bato	pangalan	snow	sino	sinasabi
G	jiː²²	saːm⁵⁵	kam⁴⁴	mʊk̚²	kap⁴⁴	fong¹¹	sɵy³⁵	taːm³³	sɛːŋ³³	syːt̚³	sɵy²¹	waː³⁵
H	ob	peb	noog	qhov muag	muab	ntshav	dej	pob zeb	lub npe	daus	uas	hais
I	dua	tiga	burung	mata	memberikan	darah	air	batu	nama	salju	siapa	mengataka
J	ni	san	tori	me	ataeru	etsueki	mizu	ishi	furunēmu	yuki	dare	Iu
K	pir	bei	baksaei	phnek	phtal aoy	chheam	tuk	dom th	chhmoh	pril	del	niyeay
L	song	sam	nok sanid	ta	hai	leuod	noa	hin	su	hima	thi	vao
M	dua	tiga	burung	mata	memberi	darah	negara	batu	nama	salji	yang	berkata
S	Ssxng	s̄ām	nk	tā	H̄ı̂	leụ̄xd	pratheṣ̄	f̄in	chụ̄̀x	f̄ima	khır	phūd
T	ñii	sum	bya	mig	sbyin	ƫhaa	ćhū	to	miŋ	qhań	sū	smra
V	haːj˧	ɓaː˧	ʨim˧	mat˥	ʨɔ˧	maw˥	nɨək˥	ɗaː˥	ten˧	twiət˥	aːj˧	nɔj˥
X	jī	saⁿ		ba̍k			chuí		sèⁿ	seh	chuí	hoā

The following are two major Mon-Khmer wordlists that have been frequently cited because of their influence on Vietnamese linguistics through the identification of basic cognates. Both lists were compiled in the 1960s, one by Thomas (1966:194) and the other by Wilson (1966). To broaden the perspective, we also consider the work of Nguyễn Ngọc San (1993), who organized these and other wordlists into a series of comparative tables.

It should be noted that the basic words included below represent what these researchers identified in Mon-Khmer languages as potential cognates with Vietnamese. By contrast, the pool of Chinese and Vietnamese correspondences appears virtually inexhaustible. In the following sections, we will examine each list in turn.

Firstly, in the Mon-Khmer listing surveyed by Thomas, the author began with the premise that "language relationships can only be established with certainty by a study of phoneme shifts and mergers, as their imprint is indelible, while lexical and syntactical features are easily erased." Whether one agrees or not, the essence of this statement also holds true for comparative work on many Vietnamese lexicons in relation to Sino-Tibetan languages as they evolved. As Ruhlen observed, "it has long been clear that there is no single, simple reason why languages change; rather, there are a whole series of reasons - which interact in incredibly complex ways - to produce the linguistic variation that we perceive in the world's language family" (Ruhlen 1994:29).

With this in mind, let us examine the entries in the Mon-Khmer wordlist selected by Thomas, who argued that these basic words are genetically related to those of Vietnamese. It should be noted, however, that Thomas completed this work with the assistance of local field recorders.

Table 3 - Comparative basic vocabulary of Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer languages (after Thomas 1966)

Vietnamese	English	Sedang	Katu	Brôu	Chrau	Comments
		semi-phonemic list by Kenneth Smith, using Richard Phillips' script	semi-phonemic list by Eva Burton	semi-phonemic list by John Miller	semi-phonemic list by David Thomas	For comments and elaboration on possible cognates with Chinese etyma, please refer to Table 1. The number of stars (*) to (******) indicates the degree of cognateness between the Vietnamese and Chinese etyma in relation to the respective cited Mon-Khmer etymon. Refer back when needed.*
ba	father	pa	ama	mpoaq	vàp	**** 爸 bā (SV 'ba')
ba	three	páy	pe	pái	pe	*** 三 sān, sàn (SV tam), M 仨 sā (SV ta, VS ba)
bay	to fly	lapah	par	pâr	par	**** 飛 fēi (SV phi) [ M 飛 fēi < MC pwyj < OC *pjəj | FQ 甫微 ]
biết	know	nany	nal	dáng	gứt	**** It is plausibly that the word is totally Chinese contracted form transcribed as 捌 /bat/ from the disyllabic form 明白 /mɓat7/ (understand, know) where spoken Min dialects of 明 being pronounced variably as bêng, bîn, miâ, mê, mêe, mî, môa, mâ... e.g., 伊毋捌字. i m̄ at jī. 'He cannot read'.  ]
bông	flower	rêaq	pơq	piar	ngkau	**** 葩 pā (SV ba, VS bông)
bước	walk	lám	vôiq	paưq ayơng	sàq	**** 步 bù (SV bộ, VS bước) [ M 步 (埠 phù) bù < MC buo < OC *baːs | Ex. 'cấtbước' 起步 qǐbù (lift one's feet) ]
bạch	white	bông	bǒk	klok	vòq	***** 白 bái (SV bạch, VS bạc) [ M 白 bái, bó, bà, băi, zì < MC baɨjk < OC *bra:g | Note: As with black, the sense of white could also be expressed by 素 sū (SV tô) for VS trắng, or by several other terms. The form 白 bái (SV bạch) is selected here because its OC initial *br- in *brak could plausibly yield tr- in Vietnamese, as seen in other cases, to account for a possible derivative of VS trắng. ]
bảy	seven	tapah	tapăl	tapul	poh	* 七 qī (SV thất)
bốn	four	puán	puân	poun	pwổn	* 四 sì (SV tứ, VS tư)
chuối	banana	priat	priq	priat	prit	****** 蕉 jiāo (SV chiêu) [ M 蕉 jiāo, qiáo, qiāo < MC tsiaw < OC *ʔsew || Note: The Chinese form must have been loaned from the same etyma in the Yuè languages. Amusingly, no other Mon-Khmer forms are close to that of the Vietnamese lexeme. This fundamental word is rebutting Mon-Khmer vs. Taic-Yue relationship, so to speak. ]
chuột	rat	kanáy	chlâng are	kunâi	kine	**** 鼠 shǔ (SV thử, VS chuột)
chà	rub	play	krdil, kôrjiut	chut	--	**** 擦 cā (SV sát) [ ~ VS 'chùi', also, 'xớt' (rub) | M  擦 cā < MC tʂat < OC *srat, *shlaːd | According to Starostin: The word is attested very late (the MC reading is taken from Zihui), and the reconstruction is thus unreliable. In Viet. cf. also xớt 'to rub, touch lightly, pounch on'. Standard Sino-Viet. is sát. | Ex. 擦鹽 cāyán, VS 'xátmuối' (rub salt on) ]
chín	nine	tachen	takia	takêh	sưn	*** 九 jǐu (SV cửu, VS chín)
chó	dog	chó	amuq	acho	so	**** 狗 gǒu (SV cẩu, VS chó, cầy)
chùi	wipe	chuat	jut(?)	chut	jùt	*** 擦 cā (SV sát, VS chà, xát)
chết	die	hêa	chet	kuchêit	chưt	*** 逝 shì (SV thệ, VS chết) | M 逝 shì, zhì, shé < MC dʑiɛi < OC *ɦljeds | Cf. 死 sǐ (SV tử)
chồng	husband	kanôw	kayik	kayak	siklô	*** 君 jūn (SV quân, VS chồng) [ M 君 jūn < MC kɨun < OC *klun | Cf. 'chồng' (clipping of) 丈夫 zhàngfū (SV trượngphu' 夫君 fūjūn (SV phuquân) ~ 郎君 lángjūn (SV langquân) ]
con	child	kuat	akǒn	kon	kòn	**** 子 zǐ (SV tử, VS con) [ Dialects: M 囝 jiăn (a dialectal variant of 子 zǐ) ’child’ Fukienese (Amoy) /kẽ/, nasalized to evolved into 'con' , Hainanese /ke1/, which could be cognate to the Austroasiatic form /kiã/ ‘son, child’. ]
cánh	wing	maná	nang	khlap	pơnar	** 翅 chì (SV sí, VS cánh)
cây	tree	luáq	long	aluang	chhơ	** 棵 kē (SV khoả) [ Cf.  株 zhū (SV châu, VS cây) ]
cười	laugh	tó	kachâng	cacháng	gờm	*** 笑 xiào (SV tiếu, VS cười)
cắt	cut	chyeh	iât	kứt	chit	****** 割 gē (SV cát, VS cắt)
cỏ	grass	ña	bơi	bát	kinji	*** 草 căo (SV thảo, VS cỏ)
cổ	neck	krôk	tuar	takong	ngko	*** 胡 hú (SV hồ, VS cổ) | Cf. 喉 hóu (SV hầu, VS họng)
cột	tie	takue	ngkat	chằq	nchap	**** 結 jié (SV kết, VS cột, thắt)
da	skin	kea	ngkar	nghkâr	ntô	*** 膚 fū (SV phu, VS da)  | Cf.  皮 pí (SV bì, VS da), Ex. 皮膚 pífū (SV bìphu, VS dadẻ)
dài	long	syát	yal	kuti	jòng	*** 長 cháng (SV tràng,  VS dài, lớn) [ M 長 cháng, zhǎng (tràng, trường, trưởng, trướng) < MC ɖɨaŋ, ʈɨaŋ < OC *taŋʔ, *daŋʔ, * daŋs ]
dây	rope	kasáy	ngon(?)	kansái	chhe	*** 線 xiàn (SV tuyến,  VS dây, sợi, chỉ, nhợ) | M  線 (綫) xiàn < MC sian < OC *sqʰeːns ]
dệt (?)	sew	chep	ih	yêih	jinh	**** 織 zhī, zhì (SV chức, thức, VS dệt) [ M 織 zhī, zhí, zhì, chì (chức, chí, xí, thức) < MC tɕɨk, tɕɨ < OC *tjɯɡ, *tjɯɡs | Note: the word 'dệt' cited here does not mean 'sew', for which the corresponding Vietnamese form should be VS 'may' or Chin. 鑝 péng. The Vietnamese 'dệt' appears to be an attempt to match the Mon-Khmer forms to denote the concepts of 'weave' or 'plait'. In the sense of 'sew' there         might be a flaw in translation that shows the poor knowledge of linguistics by Thomas' informants that went unchecked. ]
gà	chicken	í	atưit	nutruoi	iêr	****** 雞 jī (SV kê, VS gà) [ M  雞 (鷄) jī < MC kiej < OC *ke:  | cf. VS 'gởi' 寄 jì (SV ký) 'send', 'gươm' 劍 jiàn (SV kiếm) 'sword', 'gần' 近 jìn (SV cận) 'near'. There is no need to elaborate further on the fact that both the Vietnamese and Chinese cognate forms are highly plausible while all others are not. ]
gãi	scratch	wo	kabǒk	piaiq	khwàch	*** 抓 zhuā (SV trảo, VS gãi)
gạo	rice	páy	chineh	rakáu	phe	**** 稻 dào (SV đạo, VS gạo) | Cf. 'lúa' 來 lái (paddy)
gần	near	ache	dan	cheq	mờch	****** 近 jìn (SV cận, VS gần) [ M 近 jìn (SV cận, cấn, ký) < MC gɨn < OC *ɡɯnʔ, *ɡɯns | ¶ /j- ~ c-(k-), g-/, Example: 雞 jī (SV kê, gà ,'chicken'), jì 記 (SV ký, ghi , 'to write down'), 寄 jì (SV ký, VS gởi, 'send', 及 jí  (SV cấp, VS gấp, 'urgent'). Like the Chinese form /xiá/ 遐 (SV hà, VS xa), 'gần' is cognate to the Chinese form. ]
gỗ	woods	kong	--	arưih	nggô	*** 材 cái (SV tài, VS gỗ)
hai	two	pêá	bơr	bar	vàr	*** 二 èr (SV nhị, VS hai)
heo	pig	chu	sdơk	alik	sưl	**** 亥 hài (SV hợi, VS heo) [ M 亥 hài < MC ɠɤj, ɦəj < OC *ghə:ʔ, *ɡɯːʔ | Cf. 豘 (豚) tún (SV đồn, độn, VS lợn) in Chinese it means 'piglet'. ]
hông	hip	pangtêa	--	bran	jèt	*** 胸 xiōng (SV hung, VS hông) [ M 胸 (胷) xiōng < MC huawŋ < OC *qʰoŋ | According to Starostin: breast, chest (L.Zhou). Regular Sino-Viet. is hung (in fact, Viet. hông 'hip, side, flank' may be merely a chance coincidence – because of the semantic difference).
khóc	weep	krôw	nhim	nhiam	nhìm	**** 哭 kù (SV khốc, VS khóc)
khói	smoke	ngôy	gơyuâk	phêak	nhuq	*** 汽 qì (SV khí, VS hơi, 'vapor') | M 汽 qì, gài, yǐ (VS khí, cái) < MC hɨt < OC *kʰɯds | Dialect: Cant /hei31/ | According to Starostin: vapor, odor, steam, gas. Attested already in Yijing, but absent in Schussler's dictionary. Viet. hơi is colloquial; regular Sino-Vietnamese is khí (cf. perhaps also Viet. khói 'smoke').
khạc	spit	ka-chôw	katwiq	kuchóh	chhoh	**** 咳 ké (SV khái, VS khạc 'spit', ho 'cough) | M 咳 ké, hāi < MC ɦəj < OC *qʰɯː, *ɡɯː ]
kéo	pull	huá	pajuâk(?)	âk	dưk	*** 牽 qiān (SV khiên, VS kéo) | M 牽 qiān, qiàn (khiên, khản) < MC kʰɛn < OC kʰiːn, *kʰiːns | Cf. 拽 zhuāi (VS kéo) ]
lá	leaf	hlá	asơq(?)	sala	la	**** 葉 yè (SV diệp, VS lá) [ M 葉 yè, dié, shè, xiè < MC jiap, ɕiap < OC *leb, *hljeb | Note: the patter of the interchange /j-/ ~ /l-/ is the most popular in historical linguistics. Besides the OC and PC cognates, note that most of the Tibetan languages carry the the sound near Vietnamese 'lá'. Tibetan: ldeb leaf, sheet, Burmese: ɑhlap petal., Kachin: lap2 leaf, Lushei: le:p bud, Lepcha: lop leaf, Rawang ʂɑ lap leaf (for food wrapping) ; Trung ljəp1 leaf, Bahing lab. Sh. 138; Ben. 70. (See Chapter Ten on Sino-Tibetan etymologies.) ]
lúa	unhusked rice	báw	haviq	saro	va	*** 來 lái (SV lai, VS lại, lúa)
lưng	back	roq	hông	kloong	vưt	*** 呂 lǚ (SV lữ, VS lưng) | M 呂 (吕, 膂) lǚ, lǔ (Lữ, Lã) < MC lɨə̆ < OC *ɡ·raʔ | Cf. 脊梁 jǐliáng (SV tíchlương, VS sốnglưng, 'spine']
lưỡi	tongue	rapiê	ntak	liaiq	lơpiêt	*** 舌 shé (SV thiệt, VS lưỡi) | Cf. 脷 lěi (SV lợi, VS lưỡi)= Cant. /lei/
lạnh	cold	rahngew	kau	sangeit	kakàt	****** 冷 lěng (SV lãnh, VS lạnh) [ M 冷 lěng < MC lɛjŋ, laɨjŋ < OC *reːŋ, *raːŋʔ, *re:ŋʔ ]
lấy	take	syo	pai	êit	nhưp	**** 拿 ná (SV nã, VS lấy) | Cf, Dialects: Nanchang lak41, Cantonese na12 (colloquial /lɔ12/, /lɔ3/) ]
lội	swim	klê	baluâh	loui	re	**** 游 yóu (SV du, VS bơi)  [ M 游 yóu, líu, qíu < MC juw < OC *lu | ¶ /y- ~ l-/ > /b-/ : Ex.: 郵 yóu (SV bưu), 葉 yè (SV diệp) ~ VS 'lá', 兵 bīŋ (SV binh) ~ VS 'lính', 杯 bēi (SV bôi) ~ VS 'ly', etc. ]
lửa	fire	ón	aih	ôuih	uinh	*** 火 huǒ (SV hoả, VS lửa)
miệng	mouth	rakong	bop	bouq	mưnh	*** 吻 (脗) wěn (SV vẫn, VS mồm, miệng, hôn 'kiss' | M 吻 (脗) wěn < MC mun < OC *mɯnʔ  | ¶ /w- ~ m-/  ]
muối	salt	po	poh(?)	boi	voh	*** 硭 máng (SV mang, VS muối)
máu	blood	mahêámp	aham	aham	n'ham	****  衁 huáng (VS hoang, VS máu, 'blood')
mây	cloud	syok	dơluk	ramưl	tuq	*** 雲 yún (SV vân, VS mây) [ M 雲 yún < MC ɦun < OC *ɢun ¶ OC */wh- ~ m-/ | Cf. 雨 yǔ (SV vũ, VS mưa, 'rain') | ¶ /y-, v- ~ m-/ and /-n ~ -j(-i)/, Ex. 蒜 suàn: VS 'tỏi' (garlic). Also, the character 霧 wù (SV vụ, VS mù) denotes 'misty' and 'foggy' and in Vietnamese this meaning as a noun appears only in the compound 'mùsương' (霜霧 shuāngwù, SV sươngvụ). So for 霧 wù if the 'mist' is high in the sky then this word can be related to mean 'cloud'. ]
mũi	nose	moâh	moh	múh	muh	* 鼻 bí (SV tỵ, VS mũi)
mưa	rain	mêny	bă	mia	mi	*** 雨 yǔ (SV vũ, VS mưa) [ MM 雨 yǔ yǔ, yù (vũ, vù) < MC ɦuə̆ < OC *ɢʷaʔ, *ɢʷaʔs | ¶ /y-(v-) ~ m-/ | § 雲 yún (SV vân, VS mây), 舞 wǔ (SV vũ, VS múa), 無 wú (SV vô, VS mô) | Etymology: According to Starostin: precipitation, rain. Also read *whaʔs, MC h|u\ (FQ 王遇) 'to rain upon, fall'. For *wh- cf. Xiamen ho|6, Chaozhou hou4, Jianou xu6. Protoform: *qhw|aH ( *r-). Meaning: rain, Chinese: 雨 *whaʔ rain. Tibetan: kha-ba snow, mkha heaven. Burmese: rwa rain, LB *r-jua rain, cf. also *wax snow. Kachin: ru1 to pour, to fall in torrents, as rain. Lushei: ruaʔ rain, KC *r2uaʔ Lepcha: so rain (?) Kiranti: *wə . Comments: BG: Garo mikka wa, Dimasa ha to rain, Bodo ha rain; Digaro kəra rain; Bahing rya-wa. Sh. 39, 43, 138, 431; Ben. 109, 168. For Jnp. ru1 see also notes under *g(h)w|rə 'wash'. | ¶ /y-, v- ~ m-/ | Cf. 雲 yún (SV vân, VS mây, 舞 wǔ (SV vũ, VS múa, 'dance') ]
mười	ten	monychat	majet	muoi chit	mớt	* 十 shí (SV thập, VS chục, mười) ]
mắt	eye	mañ	mat	moat	mat	**** 目 mù (SV mục, VS mắt) | Note: Interestingly, this etymon appears to exist with similar forms virtually in other Asian languages, such as Malay /mat/. ]
mẹ	mother	nôw	ameq	mpiq	mê	**** 母 mǔ (SV mẫu, VS mẹ, mệ, mợ, mái)
một	one	môny	muy	muoi	mwòi	*** 一 yī (SV nhất, VS một) [ M 一 yī, yí, yì, yāo < MC ʔjit < OC *qliɡ ] (See Table 3A below)
mỡ	fat	romañ	nchiâng	naseing	lơvau	**** 肥 féi (SV phì, VS phị, phệ, béo, mập) [  肥 féi, bǐ < MC buj < OC *bɯl  | ¶ /f-, b- ~ m-/ ]
mửa	vomit	hêa	kâta	kuta	hòq	** 嘔 ōu, ǒu (SV âu, VS ói, ộc, mửa) | M 嘔 ōu, ǒu, xū, yù, òu (ẩu, âu) < MC ʔəw, ʔəwk < OC *go:, *qoːʔ | ¶ /ow- ~ mw-/ ]
nghe	hear	tang	châng	tamứng	chang	*** 聽 tīng ‘hear’ (SV thính, VS nghe) [ M  聽 (听) tìng, tīng < MC tʰɛjŋ < OC *l̥ʰeːŋ, *l̥ʰeːŋs | Dialects: Hainanese /k'ɛ1/, Amoy thiɛŋ11 $, thiã11, Chaozhou thiã11 ]
ngày	day	hany	tangay	tangái	nar	*** 日 rì (SV nhật, VS ngày, giời)
ngắn	short	nang nay	ep	kakéh	dêh	**** 短 duăn (SV đoản, VS ngắn, vắn, ngủn, lùn, tịt, 'short in height' | M 短 duǎn < MC twan < OC *to:nʔ | ¶ /d- ~ l-, ng-/, Ex. 停 tíng (SV đình, VS ngừng, 'stop') ]
ngồi	sit	ôý-anay	tơt	taku	guq	*** 坐 zuò (SV toạ, VS ngồi) [ M 坐 zuò < MC dzwa < OC *zoːlʔ, *zoːls | ¶ /z- ~ ng-/ |  Etymology: According to Starostin, Proto-Vietmuong: *ŋoj, Thomson: ŋo:j.434, Tum: ŋu:j.33, Proto-Austro-Asiatic: *ŋo(:)j || Note: ¶ /z- ~ ng/- | § 座 zuò (toạ)=VS 'ngôi'  ]
ngửi	smell	sú	huin	hôun	ta-nơm	*** 嗅 xìu (SV khứu, VS hửi, ngửi)
nhiều	many	hen	bơk	sa-ơưi	goq	**** 饒 ráo (SV nhiêu, VS nhiều) [ M  饒 ráo < MC riaw < OC *ɲiew, *ŋjaws | Note: Cannot see which words in all those of Mon-Khmer languages is cognate to that of Vietnamese nhiều ,but there is no problem to posit VS 'nhiều' with C 饒 ráo that shares also with matching dissyllabic forms, such as 有饒 yǒuráo (VS rấtnhiều, 'numerous') ]
nhà	house	hngêny	dong	dống	nhi	**** 家 jiā (SV gia, VS nhà) | ¶ /j- ~ nh-/: Fx. 撿 jiăn (VS nhặt, 'pick up)' ]
nhìn	see	hlo	lei	nhêng	sưn	*** 眼 yăn (SV nhãn, VS nhìn) [ M 眼 yăn, ěn, wěn < MC ŋŋəɨn < OC *ŋrɯːnʔ  | Cf. 相 xiāng (SV tương, VS nhìn), 朢 wàng (SV vọng,VS nhìn) | ¶ /x- ~ nh-/,  /w- ~ nh-/ ]
nhỏ	small	kuat	katuiq	kớt	kèn	*** 小 xiăo (SV tiểu, VS nhỏ) [ M 小 xiăo < MC siaw < OC *smewʔ | Dialect: Hainanese /njɜw21/ | ¶ /x- ~ nh-/ | Note: all other Mon-Khmer words appear not to be cognate at all. ]
nhớp	dirty	kamônw	nhơp	nhơp	soq	**** 污 wū (SV ô, VS dơ, nhơ, nhớp) [ ~ M 污 wū < MC ʔo < OC *ʔʷā | ¶ /w- ~ nh-, j-/ | According to Starostin: Also written as 汙 q.v. Another reading (attested in LZ) is *ʔʷrā (MC ʔwạ, Pek. wā) 'impure, vile, mean (probably connected with *ʔʷā); dig a hole in the ground'. | Note: the Sinitic-Vietnamese form 'nhớp' carries the 'greasy' connotation that could possibly be cognate to Chin. 膩 nì. ]
những	all	'taytang	babơt	nyeq	leq	*** 眾 zhòng (SV chúng) [ M 眾 (衆) zhòng < MC tʂʊŋ < OC *tuŋs | Ex. 眾名 zhòngmíng (những tên), (萬物之名), 眾有 zhòng yǒu (nhữngcó) (萬物); 眾物 zhòngwù (những vật) (萬物;諸物); 眾聖 zhòngshèng (những thánh) (諸聖人) | Note: Depending on the context it could be a variation         of  不僅 bùjǐn (khôngnhững, 'not only'.), 一切 yìqiè (những), 那些  nàxiē (những), etc.
nói	say	tapuy	praq	taq ntaưng	nhai	*** 說 shuō (SV thuyết, nói) [ M 說 shuō, tuō, shuì, yuè < MC ɕwiaj, ɕwiat < OC *ɬot, *lod | ¶ /d- ~ n-/| cf. phonetic stem 兌 duì (SV đối, VS 'đối' ~> 'nói') |  According to Starostin: Protoform: *l^o>t. Meaning: speak, say. Chinese: 說 *l^ot speak, explain. Tibetan: s/od (p. bs/ad) to say, to declare; a~c/had (p., f. bs/ad, i. s/od) to explain; cf. also rz|/od (p., f. brz|/od) to say, to declare. Kachin: (H) brat, prat to speak, as a foreign dialect with ease and accuracy. Sino-Tibetan to explain, excuse, speak; speech, words, agreement. | Note: Depending on the context, it could be a variation of  聊 liáo (SV liêu, VS nói, 'talk'), ¶ /l- ~ n-/: Ex., 聊天 liáotiān (VS nóichuyện, 'chat') ]
nóng	hot	tôw	pưih	kutâu	duh	**** 燙 tàng (SV tháng, VS bỏng, phỏng) | M  燙 tàng, dàng (năng, đãng, thang) < MC tʰaŋ, ɕɨaŋ < OC *l̥ʰaːŋs | Note: In Chinese, there are numerous words that carry the concept of "hot", e.g. 焱 yàn, 炎 yán, 融 róng, 熱 rè, 烔 tóng, etc., which might have originated from the scorching heat and sub-zero freezing weather in today's China's north and northwestern areas where cradle of civilization of China originated, that is, from region of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts. ]
núi	mountain	ngo	karung kalong(?)	kóh	gung	*** 山 shān (SV sơn, VS non, núi) [ M 山 shān (sơn, san) < MC ʂəɨn < OC *sre:n | ¶ /sh- ~ n-/: Ex. 說 shuō (SV thuyết' VS nói | ¶ /-n ~ -i/ : Ex. 蒜 suàn (SV toan, VS tỏi, 'garlic'). Note that most dialects have the initial s- such as Amoy san11 (lit.); suã11, Chaozhou suã11, except for Hainanese 山 /twa1/, ¶ /s- ~ t-/. From /suã11/, /twã/, or /twa1/ we can posit the initial /n-/ in the place of /s-/, /t-/, to have given rise to something like /nwã/, then 'non' => núi. The ¶ /t- ~ n-/ interchanges are commonplace in Chinese ~ Vietnamese corresponding sound patterns, ex. 尿 niào (SV niệu, VS tiểu, đái, 'urinate'), 鳥 niăo (SV điểu, 'bird'). Also, let's not rule out 垚 yáo (SV nghiêu, VS núi, 'hill'), though. Per Starostin, the MC reading /san/ is irregular (*s.a.n would be expected). In the meanwhile no Mon-Khmer forms are cognate to VS 'non' or 'núi', a basic word. ]
năm	five	patáp	châng	saưng	pram	* 五 wǔ (SV ngũ, VS năm, nhăm, lăm) [ M 五 wǔ, wu < MC ŋuo < OC *ŋaːʔ | Note: For the Vietnamese vocables "lăm" and "nhăm" used with numbers over 10, it is interesting to see that the Chinese Hainanese carries the vocable /lan1/. Again, Khmer form /pram/ is assumed to be cognate to VS 'năm' just because of their whole set of numbers is lumped together as mentioned in the case of 'four' /pwổn/. Meanwhile other Mon-Khmer forms do not appear to be cognate to the Vietnamese /năm/ for "five". Is it possible that VS numeral 'năm' could be possibly related to 'wǔ' for the interchange ¶ /w- ~ n-/ and /-uw ~ -m/? ]
nước	water	tea	dơk	daưq	dăq	*** 水 shuǐ (SV thuỷ, VS nước) [ M  水 shuǐ < MC ɕjwi < OC *qʰʷljilʔ | Note that the OC *qʰʷljilʔ, ended with /-ʔ/ which gives rise to ~ /-k/ of 'nước' where old Vietic form is /ɗaːk/ which in turn is conventionally considered from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɗaak ('water'). Compare Chin. 踏 tà, tā  (SV đạp', 'trample'), 沓 tà, dá (SV đạp, VS đầy, 'full'), with the phonetic stem 水 ended /-k/ and /-ʔ/. Should that be the case, it is not hard to reconstruct /dak/ for Vietic /dak/ as    having evolved into VS 'nước'. For the interchange ¶ /sh- ~ n-/: Ex. 說 shuō (SV thuyết) VS 'nói', 山 shān (SV san, VS non > núi). Most of dialects start with an initial s- such as Amoy san11 (lit.); suã11, Teochew suã11, but Hainanese reads /twi2/ { ¶ /s- ~ t-/} just like 'núi' 山 shān (Hai. /twa1/). From t- we can assume the sound changed into /n-/, hence 水 /*tujʔ/ ~ 'nước', similar to 'núi' (mountain). According to Starostin, MC ʂ- is irregular; a clear indication of *t- is given by Min forms: Xiamen cui3, Chaozhou, Fuzhou cui3. Protoform: *tujH. Meaning: water, Chinese: 水 *tujʔ water (which is similar to Hai. /twi2/) Burmese: LB: Achang ti water. Kachin: mjədi1 be wet. Lushei: tui, KC *Dui\ water. Lepcha: da a pond, a lake, stagnant water. || Cf 淂 dé (SV đắc)= Proto-Vietic *ɗaːk > Vietic "đắk" (water) ]
nằm	lie	koy	bech	bếq	viq	*** 躺 tăng (SV thảng, VS nằm)
nặn	squeeze	rang, rup	kapât	daíq	bat	**** 捏 niē (SV niết, VS nặn, nằn, nót) [ M 捏 (揑) niē < MC net < OC *niːɡ | Ex: 捏捏 niēniē (nắnnót, 'knead'), 揉捏 róuniē (nhàonặn, 'knead') ]
nặng	heavy	hngáp	haleng	ntâng	kinjoq	**** 重 zhòng, chóng (SV trọng, trùng, VS nặng)
phải	right	paro-wañ	atuâm	atoam	ma	* 右 yòu (SV hữu, VS phải) [ M 右 (佑) yòu, yǒu (hữu, vữu, vỹ) < MC ɦuw < OC *ɢʷɯʔ, *ɢʷɯs | Etymology: This etymon is speculated based on an analogy of the antonymous 'trái' (left) 左 zuǒ (SV tả) while sound change patterns could be speculated as { ¶ /y- ~ b-/ ~> /ph-/ } as in many cases, e.g., 郵 yóu: (SV bưu) 'postal', 游 yóu: (VS bơi) 'swim', 柚 yóu: (VS bưởi) 'pomelo', 由 yóu: (VS bởi) 'because', etc. In Vietnamese, 'phải' and 'trái' are also associated with the concepts 'right' and 'wrong' which is meant to connote the concept of 是非 shìfēi: VS 'phảitrái' (right and wrong). For the Vietnamese 'phải', Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 被 (“to suffer; passive marker”, SV: bị) (Old Chinese: /*m-pʰ(r)ajʔ, m-pʰ(r)ajʔ-s, mə-pʰ(r)aj, pʰ(r)aj-s/ in Baxter and Sagart (2014), along the semantic evolution of “to have to endure; to suffer” > “have to; must” > “correct” > “right (in direction)”. It may reflect an Old Chinese pronunciation /*N-pʰ(r)ajʔ-s/ with the loss of a nasal prefix as is also seen in other early loans (Sagart, per. comm.).  The common Vietic word for “right” is Proto-Vietic *dam ~ *tam, whence the now-archaic đăm. ]
quăng	throw	wang	mpeq	tôi	hwot	**** 扔 rēng (SV nhưng, VS quăng, vất, ném) [ M 扔 rēng < MC  ȵiŋ < OC *nhjəŋ | Dialects: ʐjəŋ11, Xi'an ʐjəŋ2, Taiyuan zjəŋ1, Hankou njən 11, Wenzhou zeŋ12 || Note: Possibly, the word 'quăng' /wjaŋ1/could be a derived doublet 'vất' in Vietnamese. ]
ruồi	fly	róy	raroi	ruai	rơwei	*** 蠅 yíng (SV dăng, VS nhặng, lằng)
ruột	intestines	hatêa/klea	luânh	ruaiq	tơlaq	* 腸 cháng (SV trường, VS ruột) [ M 腸 cháng < MC ɖaŋ < OC *ɫaŋ | Cf. Xiamen tŋ2, Chaozhou tŋ2, Fuzhou toŋ2, Jianou toŋ2 | ¶ /h-, sh-, s- ~ r-, d-/, Ex. 長 cháng (VS dài, 'long'), 蛇 shé: (VS rắn, 'snake'), 祟 suì (VS rủi, xui 'misfortune' ]
răng	tooth	haneq	kaiâng	kaneing	sềch	*** 齡 líng (SV linh, VS răng)
rơi	fall	kaneh	ntôq	dớm	vùng	**** 落 luò (SV lạc, VS lặn, rơi, rớt)
rắn	snake	pah	kaseng	kusân	vis	** 蛇 shé (SV xà, VS rắn) [ M 蛇 (虵) shé, chí, tuó, yí, yé (trà, xà, đà, di) < MC tʰa, jiə̆, ʑia < OC *l̥ʰaːl, *lal, *ɦljaːl  | Note: Also read *laj (MC je, FQ 弋支, Mand. yí) in the compound 委蛇 *ʔw|aj-laj 'be compliant, gracious'. | ¶ /s- ~ r-/, cf. 祟 suì (VS rủi, sui)  (misfortune) |  Note: for the vocable /yí/, cf. *** 乙 yǐ, also means "snake" in the original etymon. ]
rễ	root	rê	riah	rêh	diyeh	*** 蒂 dì (SV đế, VS rễ) | ¶ /d- ~ r-/ || Ex. 深根固蒂 shēngēngùdì (SV thâmcăncúđế, 'deeply rooted tree – or of an issue).
rửa	wash	jíw	erưoh	ariau	rau	**** 洗 xǐ (SV tẩy, VS rửa) [ M 洗 xǐ, Xiăn (tẩy, Tiển) < MC sen < OC *sɯːlʔ, *sɯːnʔ | ¶ /x- ~ r-/ : Ex. 婿 xū (SV tu, VS rể), 鬚 xū (SV tu, VS râu) | Note: Vietnamese 'tẩy' also means 'bleach'. Besides the similarities that the Mon-Khmer forms carry, M 洗 also reads 'xiăn' (SV tiển) >  'tắm' (wash) which Starostin accounts to 浸 jìn (SV tẩm) 'soak' because of the closeness of the Sino-Vietnamese sound. ]
rữa	rotten	su-wáng	kung	nsóq	ôm	**** 腐 fǔ (SV hũ, VS rữa, vữa, bựa) [ M 腐 fǔ < MC buə̆ < OC *boʔ ]
sao	star	haloq	chitur	mantour	simanh	**** 星 xīng (SV tinh, VS sao) [ M 星 xīng < MC seŋ < OC *sleːŋ | Dialects: Hainanese /se11/, cf. shēng 生 (SV sanh): VS 'đẻ' Hai. /de1/ (give birth) ]
sáu	six	tajów	chapat	tapoât	praw	*** 六 lìu (SV lục, VS sáu) [ M lìu, lù, líu < MC luwk < OC *rug ]
sông	river	taê 'kan	karung	kroung	dàq	****** 江 jiāng (SV giang, VS sông) [ M 江 jiāng < MC kawŋ < OC *kraŋ | Cf. 工 MC koŋ (SV công) | FQ 古雙 | According to Starostin: river; Yang-zi River. Viet. sông 'river' may be an older loan from the same source | Note: Old Viet. *krung > *krong > 'sông' which are cognate to /karung/, /kroung/. ],
sống	live	reh	mâmông	tâmoong	hômrih	****** 生 shēng (SV sinh, sanh, VS sống 'live', đẻ 'give birth' | M  生 shēng (sinh, sanh) < MC ʂaɨjŋ < OC *shleŋ, *sreŋs | Dialects: Hainanese te11 (cf. đẻ), Chaozhou: sẽ 11, Xiamen : sĩ11 ~ cĩ11, Wenzhou siɛ1, Pk chiaŋ1. | Note: Degree of plausibility of cognateness for this Chinese and Vietnamese etyma is six stars ****** for 'sống', not to mention derived variants of 'đẻ' (give birth) or 'dưng' /jiəŋ1/ as in 生人 shēngrén (VS ngườidưng, 'stranger'), 陌生 mòshēng (VS lạlùng, 'strange') ]
sợ	fear	takhen	kakhin	ngkắh	phung	**** 懼 jù (SV cụ, VS sợ) [ Vh @ M 懼 (惧) jù < MC gǜ < OC *ghʷas | cf. 怯 qiē (SV khiếp) ~ VS 'nhát', 'khớp' (scared) | Note: in reality, as doublets in other languages, there are several Chinese words all conveying the notation of of 'fear'. If we take frequency of common use then 怕 pà would come into the picture, M 怕 pà, pò, bó < MC pʰaɨ < OC *pʰraːɡ,  *pʰraːɡs, ¶ /b- (p-) ~ s-/, among other similar words such as 怵 chù, 悚 sǒng, 懾 shè​, or 慴 zhé, etc., like VS 'sợ', simply to convey the concept of 'fear'. ]
tai	ear	tuat	katǒr	kutôur	tôr	** 耷 tāp (SV đạp, VS tai, 'big ear') [M 耷 dā, zhé < MC tap < OC *taːb ]
tay	hand	koq	tey	atêi	ti	*** 手 shǒu (SV thủ, VS tay)
thổi	blow	hluap	kabru	kuhôuh	khlôm	**** 吹 chuī (SV xuy, xuý, VS thổi) [ M 吹 (龡) chuī, chuì, cuì < MC tɕʰʷiɛ < OC *kʰjol, *kʰjols | ¶ /ch- ~ th-/| Note: No Mon-Khmer etymon fits in the comparanda while  the Chinese 吹 chuī is plausibly cognate to Vietnamese 'thổi'. ]
thở	breathe	ihianm	ahâm	tangứh	ta-nơm	**** 吸 xī (SV hấp, VS hít, 'inhale') | M 吸 xī < MC xip < OC *sŋjəp | According to Starostin: to inhale, to absorb (L.Zhou). In Viet. cf. also 'hớp' (sip), 'húp' (drink) | Ex. 呼吸 hūxī ~ VS #'hítthở' (breathe) ]
tim	heart	ihiam	yâyul	kớl palhaưm	nus	****** 心 xīn (SV tâm, VS tim, lòng) [ M  心 xīn < MC sim < OC *slɯm | Note: Chinese dialect Hainanese /tim1/ matches Vietnamese /tim/ exactly while Mon-Khmer forms seem to be unrelated to that of Vietnamese, of whic h the closest form plausibly cognate is /'ihiam/. ]
to	big	kan	gơmak	toâr	maq	****** 大 dà (SV đại, VS to) [ M 大 (太) dà, duò, dài, dăi, tài (đại, thái) < MC daj, da < OC *da:d, *da:ds ]
tro	ashes	pló ón	plah	bắh	vùh	*** 灰 huī (SV hôi, khôi, VS tro) [ M  灰 huī  < MC xuaj < OC *hmɯː | Note: Postulation of this etymon is partly based on the articulation of Middle Chinese and Sino-Vietnamese. There are other words for 'tro' in Chinese dialects, e.g., Hokkien /hua1/ given analogical cognates of 'than' 炭 tān (charcoal) , 'lửa' 火 huǒ (fire), 'củi' 柴 cái (firewood), 'mồi' 煤 méi (coal), 'đốt' 燒 shāo (burn), 'cháy' 焦 jiāo (charred), 'trolửa': 爐渣 lǔzhā (stove ashes), 灰渣 huīzhā (burnt ashes), 炭渣 tànzhā (coal ashes) ]
trái	fruit	play	pale	palái	plai	*** 實 shí (SV thực, VS trái)
trái	left	paro-êó	adai	avêr	gyau	*** 左 zuǒ (SV tả, VS trái) [ M 左 zuǒ < MC tsa < OC *ʔsaːlʔ, *ʔsaːls | ¶ /z- ~ tr- / | According to Starostin: In some inscriptions glossed also as 'to oppose' (note: 'chống') which is rather dubious. Etymologically connected is 佐 OC *ca:jʔs, MC ca^\, Mand. zuǒ (phonetically under the influence of 左) 'to help, assist' q.v. cf. 右 (佑) yòu: phải (right), phò (support), phù (bless) as in 護佑 hùyòu (VS phùhộ) ]
trăng	moon	--	kache	rliang kasâi	khai	** 月 yuè (SV nguyệt, VS giăng, trăng)
trơn	smooth	têá	sasil(?)	siel	ntiêl	*** 潤 rùn (SV nhuận, VS nhuần, nhờn, trơn) [ M 潤 rùn < MC ȵwin < OC *njuns | Note: The Mon-Khmer forms also suggest the Chin. 跌 diē, diè (SV điệt, trật) for VS 'trợt', 'té' (slippery and fall) | M 跌 diē, diè (điệt, trật) < MC det < OC *l'i:g ]
trời	sky	pleng	pleng	paloăng	trôq	** 天 tiān (SV thiên, VS trời)
trứng	egg	kata	karau	tareil	chap	**** 蛋 dàn (SV đản, VS trứng)
tám	eight	tahéñ	takǒl	takual	phàm	* 八 bā (SV bát, VS tám)
tặng	give	ám	dăng	youn	àn	***** 贈 zèng (SV tặng) [ M  贈 zèng < MC dzəŋ < OC *zɯːŋs || Note:  for 'tặng', clearly this is a loanword from Chinese for which the variant 送 sòng (SV tống, VS tặng) which is a doublet. ]
tốt	good	lém	liâm	o	yah	*** 吉 jí (SV cát, kiết, VS tốt [ M 吉 jí < MC kjit < OC *kjit | ¶/ j- ~ t/-, Ex. 節 jié (VS Tết, 'Spring Festival). In other cases, alternatively, it could be 德 dé (SV đức), denoting more of the 'virtues' of good character. ]
tới	come	lám akô	dơk	toâq	tơt	**** 逮 dài (SV đại, VS tới) [ M 逮 (迨) dài, dăi (đại, đãi, đệ) < MC dəj < OC *l'ɯːd, *l'ɯːds | According to Starostin: to come to, reach, come forward; be perfect. MC has also a parallel (originally dialectal) reading di\ej (FQ 特計) id. Viet. tới is colloquial; standard Sino-Viet. is đại. During Early Zhou sometimes written as 棣 (thus in Shi 26.3), which allows to reconstruct *lh-. OC *lhə:p-s is an *-s-derivate from OC *lhə:p 'to reach'. | Note: like many other doublets, the Chin. 到 dào (SV đáo) could be its doublet in modern usage, M 到 dào < MC taw < OC *taːws ]
vai	shoulder	kasyah	chrlang	apal	pơniq	** 肩 jiān (SV kiên, VS cánh, vai) [ M 肩 jiān, xián, hén < MC ken< OC *ke:n | ex. 肩膀 jiānbăng ~ 肩背 jiānbèi: VS 'bảvai' (shoulders), 並肩 bìngjiān: VS 'chenvai' (shoulder to shoulder)  ]
vô	enter	mont	mot	mut	lap	*** 入 rù (SV nhập, VS vô, vào) [ M  入 rù, rǔ, rì < MC ɳip < OC *njub | Dialects: Beijing: ʐu3, Xian: vu11, Taiyuan: zujəʔ41, Hankou: y12, Changsha: zu12, Yangzhou: ljəʔ4, Wenzhou: zai42, Ts: y4, Shuangfeng: y31, Nanchang: lat41, Hakka: ɲip 42. Cant: jap42, Xiamen : ʑip42, Fuzhou : iʔ42 | Zhongyuan Yinyun: zɨu43 | Note that in ancient sound there was no /v/ phoneme in both C and V. Cf "dô" /jo/ (Viet. central and southern dialectal variations) = vô (cf. modern M 入 rù or /ju4/, to be exact. ]
vỏ	bark	katôw	halăk	ndắk	mòq	*** 皮 pí (SV bì, VS vỏ, da) [ M 皮 pí < MC bjiə̆ < OC *bral | Ex. 樹皮 shùpí (VS vỏcây, 'bark' ]
vỡ (?), chẻ (?)	split	pa	ploh(?)	ploah	vlah	*** 伐 fá (SV phạt, VS: phạt, phát, bạt, bửa, bổ | M 伐 fā, fá, pèi (phạt, phiệt) < MC buat < OC *bad  | Dialectal: Cant. /fat6/, Hẹ fat8 || Note: The word 伐 fá means 'cut down', 'cut off', 'chop off'... Thomas' postulated word 'vỡ' appears out of place unless that means VS 'bể' (broken) while 'chẻ' is, amusingly, not cognate to any of the Mon-Khmer forms, probably another misleading translation from his local informant. ]
vợ	wife	kajay	ka-diâl	lakuoi	si-ùr	**** 婦 fù (SV phụ, VS bụa, vợ)
xa	far	rahngế	chingai	yơng	ngài	**** 遐 xiá (SV hà, VS xa)
xanh	green	ñiat	taviâng	ramoong	sanh	**** 青 qīng (SV thanh, VS xanh) | M 青 (靑) qīng, jīng < MC chieŋ, ce:ŋ, cieŋ < OC *shleːŋ | Note: there are many words in Chinese that connote the concepts of color 'green', 'blue, 'azure', 'jade', etc., and one among them could also be 蒼 cāng ~ VS 'xanh' (green). They are plausible cognates in the form of doublets. ]
xơi	eat	ka	cha	cha	sa	**** 食 shí (SV thực, VS xơi)
xương	bone	kasyeng	nghang	nghang	ntin	** 腔 qiāng (SV xoang, VS xương)
xấu	bad	ratôh	môp	sâuq	viêm	****** 醜 chǒu (SV xú,  VS xấu)
đen	black	praq	tam	kôum	sindôch	*** 玄 xuán (SV huyền, VS đen) [ M 玄 xuán, xuàn < MC ɦwɛn < OC  *ɡʷeːn | Note: In effect, in Chinese there are many other words for the concept of 'black' and this is simply one among them, ex. 黔 qián, 縝 chēn, etc., where there exist common the Chinese-Vietnamese interchanges of the pattern ¶ /q-, ch- ~ d-/ ]
đào	dig	chia	pich(?)	piq	khwày	**** 鑿 záo (SV tạc, VS đào, đục) [ M 鑿 záo, zuò < MC dzəwk, dzak, tsak < OC *zoːwɢ, *ʔsoːwɢ ]
đá	stone	hmố	dơl	tamáu	tamô	**** 石 shí (SV thạch, VS đá, tạ)
đánh	hit	tok	mbi	toân	pom	****** 打 dă, dá (SV đả, VS đánh) [ M 打 dă, dá, děng < MC tɛjŋ, taɨjŋ < OC *te:ŋ, *rteŋʔ | Also read OC *tre:ŋʔ, MC t.a/.iŋ id. The strange -ŋ-less reading is first attested in Zhengyun (FQ 都瓦 = *ta/). Most Sino-external systems reflect the latter reading; note, however, Viet. đánh 'to beat, hit' which probably directly reflects MC ti/eŋ (although with an aberrant tone). | cf. ¶ /d- ~ w-/ for 'quánh' (colloquial) ]
đâm	stab	tapet	tak	choat	jùh	****** 捅 tǒng (SV đồng, VS đâm) [ M QT 桶 tǒng, yǒng, dòng (dũng, thùng, đồng) < MC tʰəwŋ, dəwŋ < OC *l̥ʰo:ŋʔ, *lho:ŋʔ ]
đêm	night	kamaq	hayum	sadâu	mang	*** 宵 xiāo (SV tiêu, VS đêm) [ M 宵 xiāo < MC sjew < OC *saw, *sew | ¶ /-w ~ -m/ ]
đúng	correct	cho	--	--	gàl	**** 中 zhòng (SV trúng) [ M  中 zhōng, zhòng < MC ʈuwŋ < OC *tuŋ, *tuŋs | Note: The usage of 中 zhòng (cf. Vietnamese đúng) is far more colloquially widespread in many dialects, often functioning interchangeably with 對 duì in Modern Mandarin (SV đối) to mean ‘correct.’ The form 對 duì (< Middle Chinese twəj < Old Chinese \tuːbs*), realized as /toj/, may itself have developed in part from Middle Chinese 中 zhòng. Over time, however, the two etyma diverged semantically: 對 duì came to specialize in the sense of ‘right, correct, appropriate,’ while 中 zhòng retained its more literal nuance of ‘to hit the mark’—as with an arrow or dart striking precisely at the target. ]
đường	road	choát	kalơng	rana	tròng	*** 道 dào (SV đạo, VS đường, nẻo) | M 道 dào < MC djəw < OC *lhu:ʔ  | Etymology: According to Starostin, the core meanings are ‘road, way, route, method.’ Since Chinese dentals are in some cases reflected in Vietnamese as /n-/, comparison may also be made with VS nẻo ‘way, direction.’ A derived form is 導 (OC lhuːʔ-s, MC da^w) ‘to lead,’ which in colloquial Xiamen appears as chua6, supporting the reconstruction of aspiration in Old Chinese. Alternatively, 唐 táng (SV đường, đàng) in early usage denoted a ‘passage or corridor within the palace.’ Another close doublet is 途 tú (SV đồ), likewise meaning ‘road, path.’ Cf. 彤 tóng (SV đồng): VS đỏ ‘red’; 痛 tòng (SV thống): VS đau ‘pain'.  ]
đất	earth	tanê	katiơk	kuteiq	nteh	**** 土 tǔ (SV thổ, độ, đỗ, VS đất) [ M 土 tǔ, dù (thổ, độ, đỗ) < MC thʰɔ, duo < OC *l̥ʰaːʔ, *l'aːʔ | Li Fang-Kuei: OC *dagx ]
đầu	head	ko	âkoq	plaư	bôq	頭 tóu (SV đầu) | M 頭 tóu < MC dəw < OC *do: | Cf. 'trốc', 'trôốc'
đẩy	push	kachot	daluaq	kutớl	chlưl	**** 推 tuī (SV thôi, VS đẩy) [ M 推 tuī, chuī (suy, thôi) < MC tʰwəj, tʂʰwi < OC *tʰjul, *tʰul | Note: the Mon-Khmer forms show similarities in the forms 'daluaq' and 'khutớl'. ]
đỏ	red	khêy	brông	kusáu	pơhor	*** 彤 tóng (SV đồng) | M 彤 tóng < MC dawŋ < OC *l'uːŋ | Note: Japanese reading dō, tō, (tou, zu); Kan-on: tou, Go-on: dou; The coincidence in pronunciation between Vietnamese đỏ (‘red’) and the Japanese Kanji reading of this word does not imply borrowing from one another. Rather, it illustrates the possibility of sound change: in Japanese, the form results from the loss of a final consonant, while in Vietnamese it is the outcome of labial rounding. Interchange between endings ¶ /-wŋ ~ -w/, cf. 痛 tòng (SV 'thống') ~ VS 'đau' (pain) ]
đứng	stand	sông	yong(?)	taứng	tiyaq	**** 站 zhàn (SV trạm, VS đứng) [ M 站 (𥩠) zhàn, zhān < MC ʈɯæm < OC *rteːms | ¶ /zh- ~ d-/ ]

Table 3B – The Case of Numeral Một

Khmer–Vietnamese pathway	Chinese–Vietnamese pathway
Khmer 1–5 numerals show parallels with Vietnamese 1–5.	Old Chinese yì 一 (nhất) ended in -t, -it, -ɨt. Still preserved in dialects: Nx it41, Hẹ jit41, QĐ jat41, Hm it41/cit41, TrC ik41.
Proto-Vietic *moːc < Proto-Mon-Khmer *muuj ~ *muəj ~ *muuɲ.	Other dialects end with glottal stop ʔ: Tn ijəʔ41, Dc ijəʔ4, Tc ioʔ41, Pk eiʔ41, Th iʔ4. Central/Southern Chinese pronounce một as /moʔ/.
Cognates: Muong mốch, Bahnar mĭnh/mônh, Khmer មួយ muəy, Mon မွဲ mòa, Bolyu maːi³¹, Mang mak⁷.	Phonetic shift: nhất /ɲʌt/ → một /mot/.
Related: Vietnamese mốt (day after tomorrow).	Sino-Vietnamese nh- < ʔj- (also ʔi-), perceived as implosive *ʄ- > nasalized ɲ-. Development: ʔjit > *ʄit > ɲit.
Usage: unlike other numerals, ordinal is not thứ một but thứnhất (“first”), also đầutiên (“foremost”).	Parallel case: nhân < 因 (MC ʔiɪn). See Ferlus (2009).
—	Systematic contrasts:  nhất (< *ʔj- < 一 MC ʔiɪt̚) vs. ất (< *ʔ- < 乙 MC ʔˠiɪt̚) <br> dân (< *j- < *mj- < 民 MC miɪn) vs. mân (< *m- < 珉 MC mˠiɪn) <br> tần (< *bj- < 嬪 MC biɪn) vs. bần (< *b- < 貧 MC bˠiɪn). <br> → Chongniu IV shows palatalization; Chongniu III yields simpler initials.

Table 3C – The Case of Numeral Một

1. Etymology:

Sino-Vietnamese nhất, nhứt, nhít from 一 (“one”).

The ‹nh-› is from ʔj-, which was perceived as the implosive *ʄ- then developed into ɲ- as implosives nasalized: ʔjit > *ʄit > ɲit. For a similar case of development of Middle Chinese ʔj-, compare nhân, from 因 (MC 'jin). See Ferlus (2009) for details.

Sino-Vietnamese shows fairly systemic contrast between characters belonging to Chongniu III and IV rime groups with certain initials: nhất (< *ʔj- < 一 (MC 'jit)) vs. ất (< *ʔ- < 乙 (MC 'it)), dân (< *j- < *mj- < 民 (MC mjin)) vs. mân (< *m- < 珉 (MC min)), tần (< *bj- < 嬪 (MC bjin)) vs. bần (< *b- < 貧 (MC bin)). The first character of each pair belongs to Chongniu IV group and shows clear palatalization in its Sino-Vietnamese reflexes, while the second belongs to Chongniu III and yields simplex initial.

Note: Although the numerical relationship between Khmer and Vietnamese from 1 to 5 (why only up to 5? It is very possible that the numbers from 6 to 9 or 10 are related to Chinese) has been recognized, a corresponding pattern can also be identified between Chinese and Vietnamese:

a. Interchange: /y-(j-) ~ m-/:

• 滅 miè → diệt
• 舀 yáo → môi (~muỗng)
• 鹽 yán → muối
• 眼 yăn ~ 目 mù → mắt
• 民 mín → dân /jʌn/
• 面 miàn → diện /jiən/
• 秒 miào → diệu /jiəw/
• 名 míng → danh /jaɲ/

b. Phonological note: The final consonant of 一 yì (nhất) in Old Chinese ended in -t, -it, -ɨt, and is still preserved in several dialects:

• Nanchang: it41
• Hakka: jit41
• Cantonese: jat41
• Hokkien: it41, cit41
• Teochew: ik41

Other dialects end with a glottal stop ʔ (e.g., speakers in central and southern China pronounce một as /moʔ/):

• Tn: ijəʔ41
• Dc: ijəʔ4
• Tc: ioʔ41
• Pk: eiʔ41
• Th: iʔ4

Thus, nhất /ɲət̚˧˦/ can shift phonetically into một /mot/.

2. Wiktionary (etymology):

• From Proto-Vietic *moːc, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *muuj ~ *muəj ~ *muuɲ.
• Cognates: Muong mốch, Bahnar mĭnh, mônh, Khmer មួយ (muəy), Mon မွဲ (mòa), Bolyu maːi³¹, Mang mak⁷.
• Related to mốt (“day after tomorrow”).
• In Yao: mo. Cognates include Swahili moja.
• Numeral mo = one. Usage: follows a noun and takes the noun class prefix (e.g., libweta limo = one box).

3. Usage notes: Unlike other cardinal numbers, the ordinal form of một is not thứ một, but thứnhất (“first”). Alternatively, “first” can also be translated as đầutiên (“foremost”).

a. For nhất (Sino-Vietnamese from 一 “one”):

• Initial nh- derives from ʔj- (also rendered ʔi-), perceived as implosive *ʄ-, then nasalized into ɲ-.
• Development: ʔjit > *ʄit > ɲit.
• Parallel case: nhân from 因 (MC ʔiɪn). See Ferlus (2009).

b. Systematic contrasts in Sino-Vietnamese:

• nhất (< *ʔj- < 一 MC ʔiɪt̚) vs. ất (< *ʔ- < 乙 MC ʔˠiɪt̚)
• dân (< *j- < *mj- < 民 MC miɪn) vs. mân (< *m- < 珉 MC mˠiɪn)
• tần (< *bj- < 嬪 MC biɪn) vs. bần (< *b- < 貧 MC bˠiɪn)

→ Characters in Chongniu IV show palatalization in Sino-Vietnamese reflexes, while those in Chongniu III yield simpler initials.

x X x

Let us now turn to another representative study, that of Wilson (1966), who aligned herself with the views of J. Przyluski, Thomas, and Buttinger. She wrote:

"Both the Vietnamese language and the Mường dialects are based on a Mon-Khmer (Cambodian) vocabulary. The words for numbers, family relationships, and domestic animals are of Mon-Khmer origin." (p. 203)

In her survey, Wilson calculated that:

"196 basic Mường words compared with the Mon-Khmer family, 65 or 33% are apparent cognates with three or more Mon-Khmer languages. Another 30 possible cognates appear on the second list. Together the two lists yield 48%. Either of these percentages seems to establish Mường as a member of the Mon-Khmer family. This in turn would lend additional strength to the arguments for the inclusion of Vietnamese in the Mon-Khmer family." (p.213)

It should be noted, however, that the percentages cited are based on cognates dispersed across "three or more Mon-Khmer languages", many of which may not be genetically related. A number of the items could well be loanwords from the highly Sinicized ancient Annamese, the ancestral form of modern Vietnamese, after the divergence of Viet and Mường from their presumed common parent, Viet-Mường, roughly a millennium ago (Nguyễn Ngọc San 1993:5). It is equally plausible that these basic cognates reflect influence from neighboring Mon-Khmer languages. This interpretation accords with Wilson’s own observation that "Mường seems to show greater similarities to the Mon-Khmer languages than does Vietnamese." (p. 204)

Yet Wilson’s statement could just as readily be applied to the relationship between Chinese and Vietnamese. In the realm of basic vocabulary, the case for Chinese-Vietnamese cognates is even stronger: virtually all kinship terms are shared, and this holds true across Chinese dialects as well. Like the wordlists cited in the tables below, Wilson’s analysis overlooked the fact that many of the same basic Chinese words also appear in her data, and in fact yield an even higher percentage of cognacy.

The same caveat applies to Thomas’s earlier list, since many of the items commonly cited in both works are also attested in Chinese and other Sino-Tibetan languages (see Chapter Ten on Sino-Tibetan etymologies). This pattern is typical: subsequent specialists have closely followed these approaches or used them as a springboard, but the field has remained bound to the same worn-out assumptions, namely, "Mường < Viet-Mường", "Mường ~ Mon-Khmer", and therefore "Vietnamese = Mon-Khmer." Wilson’s conclusions, drawn from lists compiled with the help of local interpreters during a short, institute-funded field trip, exemplify this circular reasoning.

What follows are "the better attested cognates listed first in the list" (p. 204), along with additional examples.

Note: The Mon-Khmer languages considered include Bahnar (Bah), Sedang (Sed), Bơnam (Bnm), Jeh, Rơngao (Rng), Cua, and Hre of the Kontum area; Mnong Gar (Gar), Mnong Biat (Biat), Chrao (Chr), and Koho of the southern highlands of South Vietnam; Katu, Bru, and Pơkoh (Pko) of the northern highlands; Boloven (Bol), Laʔven (Lv), and Alak of southern Laos; Kui of eastern Thailand; and Khmer (Khm) of Cambodia. (p. 204)

(Note for the immediate table below: Chinese correspondences as suggested by dchph. A count of stars from * to ****** indicates degrees of cognateness, i.e., plausibility, between the Chinese and Vietnamese etyma in relation with the respective cited Mon-Khmer etymon.)

Table 4 - Basic words in Vietnamese and representative Mon-Khmer languages by Wilson

English	Vietnamese	Mường	Mon-Khmer cognates	Comments For comments and elaboration on possible cognates with Chinese etyma, please refer to Table 1.
three	ba	pah	paa (Lv); pai (Alak, Pko, Bru); pay (Gar); peh (Cua); pae (Katu); ʔapay (Kui)	*** 三 sān, sàn (SV tam, VS ba)
fly	bay	pal	pal (Cua); paal (Kui); par (Koho, Gar, Bru, Katu, Chr); par (Rng)	**** 飛 fēi (SV phi, VS bay)
foot	bànchân	pan chơn	pan tyeng (Rng); pang jơng (Bol); pyang dyeng (Bnm)	*** 腳板 jiăobăn (SV cướcbản, VS bànchân) | cf. 巴腳 bājiăo ~ #'bàntay' (手板 shǒubăn)
squeeze	bóp	póp	bop (Chr); rop (Bah); katop (Bnm); kadap (Hre); rup (Katu)	*** 壓 yā (SV áp, VS ép, ẹp, óp, bóp, bẹp) | M  壓 yā, yà < MC ʔaɨp < OC *qreːb | According to Starostin: Viet. 'ẹp' (crushed, flattened) probably borrowed from the same source). Regular Sino-Viet. is áp. | Note: similar to the pattern ¶ /y- ~ b-/, e.g., ¶ /y- ~ l- ~ b-/, cf. 由 yóu ~ 'bởi' (because), 柚 yóu ~ 'bưởi' (pomelo), 郵 yóu ~ 'bưu' (postal), 游 yóu: VS 'bơi'..., and for ¶ /Ø- ~ b-/, ex. 案 àn (SV án): VS 'bàn' (table), 按 àn (SV án): VS 'bấm' (press) ]
suck	bú	púʔ	pu (Biat, Chr); pouʔ (Koho); bàu (Khm)	**** 哺 bǔ (SV bộ, VS bú) [ M 哺 bǔ < MC bo < OC *ba:s || Note: Note: This item is intriguing in its apparent connection: the Vietnamese basic verb bú ‘to suck, nurse’ may be cognate with Chinese 哺 bǔ. Such a pairing highlights a deeper layer of linguistic kinship, one that resonates with parallels across other Mon–Khmer languages as well.  The puzzle lies in the uniformity of form across these languages. It seems improbable that speakers of one language would have needed to borrow such a fundamental word from another. More likely, the resemblance is either coincidental or a residual inheritance from a common ancestral stock. This would place bú alongside other widespread nursery‑type or basic lexical items such as ba, ma, mắt, bay, etc., which recur across language families and often resist neat etymological compartmentalization. ]
swim	bơi, lội	pơi loiʔ	loi (Bru); looy (Kui); glơy (Hre); glai (Rng); glưy (Bah); zilois (Cua)	**** 游 yóu (SV du, VS bơi, lội) [ M  游 yóu, líu, qíu < MC juw < OC *lu | Schuessler: MC jiəu < OC *ljəw | According to Starostin: to float, swim; to wander about, ramble. With the meaning 'wander about, ramble, divert oneself' usually written as 遊. For OC *l- cf. Xiamen, Chaozhou, Fuzhou iu2. | For the pattern ¶ /y- ~ l- ~ b-/, cf. 由 yóu ~ 'bởi' (because), 柚 yóu ~ 'bưởi' (pomelo), 郵 yóu ~ 'bưu' (postal), etc. ]
four	bốn	pón	pon (Bru); poon (Alak); pwon (Hre, Chr); phoon (Rng); puon (Bah)	* 四 sì (SV tứ, VS bốn)
because	bởi	po	pho (Bol); tai boh (Koho); phroʔ (Kui)	****由 yóu (SV du, VS bởi) [ M 由 yóu < MC jəw < OC *ɫu | ¶/ y- ~ b-/, Ex. 游 yóu: VS 'bơi' (swim), 郵 yóu: SV 'bưu' (postal), 柚 yòu: VS 'bưởi' (pomelo) ]
father	cha, ba	băk	ʔbaʔ (Cua); ba (Khm); mba (Hre); bap (Gar, Chr)	****** 爹 diè (SV ta, VS cha, tía)
bird	chim	chim	chium (Biat); tyim (Sed); tym (Rng); sim (Koho)	**** 禽 qín (SV cầm, VS chim)
rub	chà	chuih	chuy (Chr); kơkoy (Bah) toyh (Katu); Koyh (Hre)	**** 擦 cā (SV sát) [ M 擦 cā < MC tʂat < OC*srat | Note: Interestingly, the two Mon-Khmer forms look more like 'chùi' (rub) in Vietnamese. If Wilson's local interpreter had been familiar with some linguistics, he would have had related this word to 'chùi' right away. ]
leg	chân	chơn	jơng (Bah, Bol, Koho); djong (Biat); jưng (Gar)	*** 腳 jiăo (SV cước, VS chân)
louse	chí	chí	ch'i (Biat); chai (Lv, Alak); si (Chr); nhcee (Kui)	**** 虱 shī (SV siết, sắt, VS chí)
dog	chó	chó	cho (Bol); choo (Lv); ch'o (Biat);tyo (Katu); tyoo (Rng); so (Chr)	**** 狗 gǒu (SV cẩu, VS chó)
die	chết	chét	chet (Katu); chit (Chr); tset (Cua); cachet (Bnm); kơchit (Hre)	** 死 sǐ (SV tử) [ M 死 sǐ < MC sji < *OCsijʔ | See etymology in the list above or other previous sections.]
husband	chồng	owng	ong (Bnm); ʔong (Hre); kơmong (Sed)	*** 君 jūn (SV quân, VS chồng) [ M 君 jūn < MC kɨun < OC *klun | Note: According to Starostin, the modern Chinese word for ‘husband’ is the disyllabic 丈夫 zhàngfu, which may underlie the Vietnamese contracted form chồng. At the same time, 君 jūn became associated with chàng or 郎 láng (‘man, young gentleman’), as in the well‑known line 何日 君 再來? Hérì jūn zàilái? → Ngàynào chàng trởlại? (“When will my man return?” / “When will you come back?”). In such contexts, 君 jūn could be assimilated with chồng (‘husband’), and both function as personal pronouns of intimate address. Dialectal Huế call husband 'dộn']
animal	convật	kon vật	kon se mprem (Bah); kon tye (Sed); kon kohnem (Jeh); kong kyak (Rng)	*** 禽獸 qínshòu (SV cầmthú, VS convật, conthú) | M 禽獸 qínshòu \ @ 禽 qín ~ con, @ 獸 shòu ~ vật | M 禽 qín < MC gim < OC *ɡrɯm ||| M 獸 shòu < MC ɕuw < OC *qʰljus | See also item 'chim' in this table.]
fish	cá	ka	ka (Koho, Bah, Biat, Chr); kaa (Sed, Rng, Gar)	**** 魚 yú (SV ngư, VS cá)
tree	cây	kơl	kạl (Kui); ơl (Cua); kơlaa 'bamboo' (Hre, Sed, Koho)	*** 棵 kē (SV khoả, VS cây)
cut	cắt	kayk	kơtac (Katu); kat (Bah, Bru, Hre, Chr); chiat (Lv); siat (Kojo)	**** 割 gē (SV cát, VS cắt)
neck	cổ	kel	kal koong (Kui); ơkor (Bah); ka (Khm); kao (Gar)	*** 喉 hóu (SV hầu, VS cổ, họng) [ M 喉 hóu < MC ɠʊw < OC *go | Note. 喉嚨 hóulóng: VS 'cổhọng' (throat) > VS 'cổ' (neck) || Cf. 胡 hú (SV hồ, VS cổ) ]
scratch	gẫy [sic]	kãiʔ	kai (Bah, Khm); kwaiʔ (Cua); kayʔ (Rng); kayh (Katu); Kar (Bru)	*** 抓 zhuā (SV trảo, VS gãi)
narrow	hẹp	hèp	hrap (Bah); hat (Koho, Gar, Rng); rhat (Biat)	**** 狹 xiá (SV hiệp, VS hẹp)
dry	khô	xo	xo (Chr); kro (Bah); kroo (Rng)	***** 枯 kū (SV khô) [ M 枯 kū < MC kʰuo < OC *kʰa:  | Note: The Chinese and Vietnamese forms are clearly cognate. By contrast, the Mon–Khmer parallels appear more plausibly to have radiated through Vietnamese rather than directly from Chinese. This raises the question: is khô in fact a Chinese loanword in Vietnamese, or does it reflect a deeper shared inheritance? TThe lexeme is productive in Vietnamese compounds such as 'khôcằn' ~ khôcạn' ~ 'khôkhan' 枯幹 kūgān (dry up, wither). ]
spit	khạc	chủ xàk	kơchuʔ (Hre); choh (Koho); kacheh (Kui); kachoh (Katu)	**** 咳 ké (SV khái, VS khạc, ho, 'cough up')
leaf	lá	lá	la (Chr); là; laa (Rng, Lv); hla (Bah, Hre, Cua, Katu); hlaa (kui); hala/sala (Bru)	**** 葉 yè (SV diệp, VS lá)
liver	lòng, gan	lom	klơm (Bah, Biat); k'lơm (Bol); kloom (Lv, Alak)	****** 肝 gān (SV can, VS gan, 'liver') [ M 肝 gān < MC kan < OC *ka:n | Note: On the one hand, Vietnamese lòng corresponds to Chinese 心 xīn ‘heart’ (VS tim) ~ M 心 xīn < MC sjəm < OC sjəm (< ljəŋʷ). Pre‑Sino‑Vietnamese forms include sjʌmʔ; cf. Cantonese /sʌm5/, Old Vietnamese lâm. For VS lòng and tim, compare SV tâm. An illustrative case is 點心 diǎnxīn: SV điểmtâm → VS lótlòng (‘snack, breakfast’). On the other hand, while Mon–Khmer forms such as lom, klơm, and kloom point toward lòng, they cannot be straightforwardly related to VS gan (‘liver’). The question remains whether Wilson’s analysis implies an initial /kl‑/ cluster for both sets of forms. ]
salt	muối	mơi/bóiʔ/boei	ʔboi (Bru); mboh (Rng); mboh (Cua); boh (Koo, Bah); mwoyʔ (Kahu); pooh (Kui)	*** 硭 máng (SV mang, VS muối)
cloud	mây	mơl	hamơl (Bah); Kamơl (Kui); hmưl (Bru); hmol (Lv)	*** 雲 yún (SV vân, VS mây)
nose	mũi	mũi	mui (Katu); mu (Bol); muh (Koho, Bah, Cua, Chr); mụh (Khui, Bru, Hre)	** 鼻 bí (SV tỵ, VS mũi)
rain	mưa	mưa	mưa (Lv); mia (Kui, Bru); mih (Gar); mi (Bah, Chr)	*** 雨 yǔ (SV vũ, VS mưa)
eye	mắt	mặt	mat (Koho, Cua, Hre, Katu, Bah, Sed, Chr); mạạt (Kui); matʔ (Lv)	**** mù 目 (SV mục, VS mắt)
face	mặt	màt	mat (Bol); mũh măt (Chr); mỗh măt (Biat); mukh meẫt (Khm)	**** 面 miàn (SV diện, VS mặt) [ M 面 miàn < MC mian < OC *mens ]
mother	mẹ	mê	mè (Koho); me (Bah); meʔ mey Chr)' meeʔ (Katu, Alak); ʔameeʔ (Kui)	**** 母 mǔ (SV mẫu, VS mẹ, mệ, mợ, mạ)
one	một	mòt	mo (Khm); moy (Sed); mwoi (Chr); mooe (Lv); mooi (Alak); mơyʔ (Katu)	*** 一 yī (SV nhất, VS một)
fat	mỡ	mỡ	lơma (Koho); rơma (Bah, Hre); rưma (Rng, Sed)	**** 肥 féi (SV phì, VS mỡ, mập)
hear	nghe	mang	hmang (Sed); mưng/pang (Bah); tơmưng/kamang (Bru); nang (Katu)	*** (1) 聽 tìng, tīng (SV thính, VS nghe),  (2) *** 聞 wén, wèn (SV văn, vấn, vặn, VS nghe) [ M 聞 wén, wèn < MC miun < OC *mɯn, *mɯns | According to Starostin: to hear; to smell, perceive; as wèn 'be heard, renowned' ]
day	ngày	ngày	ngay (Chr); ngăi/tơngăi (Khm), tangay (Kui); tơngai (Bol); tơngyi (Katu)	*** 日 rì (SV nhật, VS giời)
smell	ngửi	hít	hiet (Bol); het (Khm); hip (Cua); hiep (Bah); huut (Lv)	**** (1) 吸 xī (SV hấp, VS hít),  (2) 嗅 xìu (SV khứu, VS hửi, ngửi)
small	nhỏ	nhỏ	yo/yoh (Hre); ơnoh (Cua); yoh (Rng); ʔyoh (Bnm)	*** 小 xiăo (SV tiểu, VS nhỏ)
year	năm	năm	năm (Biat); nam (Koho, Gar); hu-nam (Rng); ch'năm (Khm); xanâm (Bah)	***** 年 nián (SV niên, VS năm)
water	nước	dák	dak (Bah, Biat); ʔdak (Katu); ndak/tak (Cua); daʔ (Chr); daak (Lv, Alk, Gar); diak (Hre); diaʔ (Kui)	*** 水 shuǐ (SV thuỷ, VS nước)
here	nầy	luơ nì	nih (Khm); ne (Bol); n'he (Chr); nẹẹ (Kui)	*** 這 zhè (SV giả, VS đây, nầy, này) | M 這 zhè, zhèi, yàn (giá, giả, nghiện, nghiến) < MC ŋian < OC *ŋrans | ¶ /zh- ~ d(đ)-, d- ~ n-/ ]
right side	phải	tăm	tam (Kui); ơtơm (Pko); atơm; sdam (Khm); tươm (Katu)	** 右 yòu (SV hữu, VS phải)
intestines	ruột	rwayk/ruot	rway/rueʔ (Bru); rụạk (Kui); royʔ (Pko); proac (Koho); proit (Gar)	** 腸 cháng (SV trường, VS ruột)
root	rễ	reyk	hrex (Alek); reh (kui); re (Sed); ria (Koho)	*** 蒂 dì (SV đế, VS rễ) | ¶ /d- ~ r-/ ]
woods	rừng	rừng	krong (Gar); krơng (Katu); kong (Sed)	**** 林 lín (SV lâm, VS rừng)
wash	rửa	thươ/sữa	rua (Katu); brưa (Lv); ruh (Rng); rao (Koho); riaw (Kui)	*** 洗 xǐ (SV tẩy, VS rửa)
river	sông	xong/khônh	krong (Bah, Sed); karung (Katu); Klong (Bru); rong (Gar, Koho); dakhom (Lv); n;hong (Biat); khroang Hre)	****** 江 jiāng (SV giang, VS sông)
hunt	săn	payng	pơn pain (Alak); pănh (Chr); tow bănh (Khm)	*** 田 tián (SV điền, VS săn 'hunt', đồng (paddy field) | M 田 tián < MC dɛn < OC *l'iːŋ | ¶*/l- ~ s-/ : Ex.. lián 蓮 (SV liên) ~ VS sen (lotus) | Cf. modern M 獵 liè: VS 'săn' (hunt), Ex. 打獵 dăliè: VS 'đisăn' (go hunting), 獵手 lièshǒu: VS 'thợsăn' (hunter) | According to Starostin: For *lh- cf. Min forms (with secondary palatalization): Chaozhou chaŋ2, Fuzhou cheŋ2, Jianou chaiŋ2. Used also for a homonymous (and possibly related) *lhi:n 'to hunt'. ]
hand	tay	thay	tai (Lv, Bol); taii (Katu); dăi/dăy (Khm); atai (Vru); t'i (Chr)	*** 手 shǒu (SV thủ, VS tay)
breathe	thở	thǒ/thôn	taʔ nhom (Koho); tangoh (Kui); tơngưh (Bru); tơnguh (Pko); tơng chap (Chr)	**** 息 xī (SV tức, VS thở) [ M 息 xī, xí < MC sɨk < OC *slɯɡ | According to Starostin: Shuowen 喘 也. 從 心 自. to rest. The original and more common now meaning is 'to breathe'; but during Early Zhou the word is attested only with the meaning 'to rest'. | ex. 氣息 qìxī: VS 'hơithở' (breath). Cf. 呼吸 hūxī (SV hôhấp): VS 'hítthở' (breathe). ]
heart	tim	tláy nó	plii noyh (Hre); Ple nuih (Bah); nuyh (Chr)	****** 心 xīn (SV tâm, VS tim, lòng)
ashes	tro	buing	buh (Chr, Gar); bǔh (Biat); bu (Koho)	*** 灰 huī (SV hôi, khôi, VS tro) [ M  灰 huī  < MC xuaj < OC *hmɯː ]
fruit	trái	tlai	plai (Koho, Chr); plai (Bol); plăi (Biat); plei (Bah)	*** 實 shí (SV thực, VS trái)
child	trẻcon	dươkon	kon (Hre, Pko, Bru); kon (Chr, Briat, Koho, Bah); koon (kui)	**** 稚子 zhìzǐ (SV trĩtử, VS trẻcon) | M 稚 (穉) zhì < MC ɖji < OC *l'ils || M 子 zī, zǐ, zì, zí, zi, cí (tử, tý) < MC tsɨ < OC *ʔslɯʔ || Dialects: M 囝 jiăn (~ 子 zǐ) ’child’ Fukienese (Amoy) /kẽ/, Hainanese /ke1/, which could have originated from an Austroasiatic form as /kiã/ ‘son, child’. || Handian: 稚子 zhìzǐ 亦作 “穉子”, “稺子”。幼子；小孩。 唐 寒山《詩》之二四八：“餘 勸 諸 稚子，急 離 火宅 中。三 車 在 門外，載 你 免 飄蓬。” 元 楊載《春 晚 喜 晴》詩：“歌 呼 從 穉子，談笑 或 嘉賓。” | Note: the 稚子 zhìzǐ postulated hereof is to match the cited "trẻcon", but, in effect, the monosyllabic "囝 jiăn 子 zǐ)" would suffice.]
sky	trời	tlơy	trơy (Katu); trôʔ (Chr); trok (Gar); trồ (Koho); trok (Hre)	** 天 tiān (SV thiên, VS trời)
hair	tóc	thák/sák	sak (Brm); sẫk (Khm); sok (Alak); soʔ (Kui); chok (Biat)	** 髮 fà (SV phát, VS tóc) | M 髮 fà, fă (phát, bị) < MC puat < OC *pod | ¶ /p- ~ t-/
green	xanh	seng	seng (Cua); ceng (Bru); seeng (Pko)	**** 青 qīng (SV thanh, VS xanh)
bone	xương	sương	kusieng (Sed); kưseng (Rng); seng (Hre); ksiing; ch'eng (Khm)	** 腔 qiāng (SV xoang, VS xương)
tail	đuôi	tuơy	kan tui (Km); suwai (Lv), suêi k'nai (Bol); sooy (Kui)	*** 尾 wěi (SV vĩ, VS đuôi) | M 尾 wěi, yǐ < MC muj < OC *mɯlʔ  | ¶ /w- ~ đ-/ | Note: In Luce's comparanda, Old Mon /birta/ (?), /bata/, Danaw /tɔŋ2tɑ/, Riang White /taʔ-/, Black /sʿən\taʔ-/, /săɗɑ2/, Wa /ʃi4taʔ1/, T'eng /hěnta/, the closest forms are those initials of the second morph that starts with /t-/ on the condition that /t-/ ~> /d-/. ]
hit	đánh	tayng nhaw	toang (Bnm); ting (Bru); tiơn (Cua); ton/toʔ (Bah)	****** 打 dă, dá (SV đả, VS đánh)
road	đường	tàng xá	trong (Biat, Bah, Gar, Hre); ntoong (Alak; crong (Chr)	*** 道 dào (SV đạo, VS đường, đàng) | Ex. 街道 jièdào (VS đàngxá, 'road') | See elaboration in the previous list by Thomas and more in Chapter Ten on Sino-Tibetan etymologies.]
head	đầu	tlok	plo (Pko); plơ (Bru); ploo (Kui); bôk (Biat); boʔ (Chr)	***** 頭 tóu (SV đầu, VS trốc, trôốc)
push	đẩy	dun	tun/tul (Bah); runh (Khm); drung (Koho)	**** 推 tuī (SV suy, thôi, VS đẩy)

Table 4.x - Addendum

Note by Ruth S. Wilson: The following words are possible cognates which may be more firmly established by further study.

-Chinese correspondences as suggested by dchph. A count of stars * to ****** indicates degrees of cognateness between the Chinese and Vietnamese etyma in relation with the respective cited Mon-Khmer etymon. 

English	Vietnamese	Mường	Mon-Khmer cognates	Comments
-	-	-	-	For comments and elaboration on possible cognates with Chinese etyma, please refer to Table 1.
flower	bông hoa	pong	pooh/ʔbowng (Katu)	*** 葩 pā (SV ba, VS bông)
fall	bổ (?)	pôʔ/poʔ	bo/bong (Chr)	* 爬 pá (SV bà, VS bò, 'crawl, climb') | M 爬 pá < MC bɯa < OC *bra: | Note: Not sure what Wilson's 'bổ' exactly means here with the definition of "fall"; it is probably derived from 'bổnhào'. An arbitrary Chinese word is temporarily posited here, which could be replaced with 奔 bèn. ]
dust	bụi	pul	thuli (Khm); gơthul (Koho)	*** 灰 huī (SV muội, VS bụi, vôi, tro) [ M 灰 huī (hôi, khôi) < MC xuaj < OC *hmɯː | Note: Another Chinese cognate should be 粉 fěn (SV phấn, VS bụi) \ | ¶ /f- ~ b-/, /-n ~ -i/, ex. 蒜 suàn: VS 'tỏi' (garlic) ]
burn	cháy	chal	choh (Alak, Lv); choh (Chr)	**** 灼 zhuó (SV chước, VS cháy) [ M 灼 zhuó < MC tɕiɐk < OC *pljewɢ | Cf. 燒 shāo (SV thiêu, VS đốt, cháy)  ]
split	chẻ	chẻ	sre (Koho); treh (Chr)	*** 切 qiē, qiè (SV thiết, VS chẻ, xẻ) [ M 切 qiē, qiè, qì (thiết, thê) < MC tsʰɛj, tsʰɛt < OC *sn̥ʰiːd, *sn̥ʰiːds ]
that	cái kia	káy lưaʔ	laeʔ (Lv)	*** 那個 nèigè (SV nảcá, VS cáiấy)  [ M 那 nà, nèi, nuò, nuó, nă (nỏ, nã, ná) < MC na < OC *na:l, *naːlʔ, *na:ls ||  M 個 (箇, 个) gè, gě < MC ka < OC *kaːls   ]
skin	da	ta	tao (Gar); nto (Chr); n'tou (Biat)	*** 膚 fū (SV phu, VS da)  | Ex. 皮膚 pífū: VS 'dadẻ' (complexion) ]
rope	dây thừng	chaak	ch'ẽ (Chr); che (Koho); sih (Hre);ksiʔ (Sed); kachii (Bnm)	*** (1) 線 xiàn (SV tuyến, VS dây) [ M 線 (綫) xiàn < MC sian < OC *sqʰeːns ] **** (2) 繩 shéng (SV thằng, VS thừng) [ M 繩 shéng, shèng, yìng, mǐn < MC ʑiŋ < OC *ɦbljɯŋ ] *** (3) 繩子 shéngzi  (VS dâythừng) [ If we treat this word in its disyllabic form, as provided by Wilson's local informants, posited in reverse order, 繩子 shéngzi is the right word with 子 zi associated with 線 xiàn for 'dây', and it appears as loanword from Chinese. ]
what	gì	chì	nchi (Koho)	**** 啥 shà (SV xá, VS chi, gì ) | phonetic stem M 舍 (捨, 舎) shě, shè (xả, xá) < MC ɕia < OC *hljaːʔ ]
near	gần	khơyng	khang (Khm); kơnh 'about to' (Chr)	****** 近 jìn (SV cận, VS gần)
smoke	khói	xoi	juui (Alak); nhoy (Hre); nhoi (Bah)	*** 汽 qì (SV khí, VS khói, hơi) [M 汽 qì, gài, yǐ (khí, cái) < MC hɨt < OC *kʰɯds | Cant: hei31 | Note: According to Starostin: vapor, odor, steam, gas. Attested already in Yijing, but absent in Schussler's dictionary. Viet. hơi is colloquial; regular Sino-Viet. is khí (cf. perhaps also Viet. khói 'smoke'?) ]
cold	lạnh	chá	khaw (Katu); tkat (Alak); kat (Gar); Kơkaat (Chr); takooʔ	**** (1) 冷 lěng (SV lãnh, VS lạnh) **** (2) 淒 qī (SV thê, VS giá, rét) || Based on other Mon-Khmer forms 淒 qī is likely related. | M 淒 qī < MC chiej < OC *shjə:j | According to Starostin, the protoform is reconstructed as chijəː. Comparative evidence includes Tib. bsil ‘cool, coolness’; Kachin gjəci¹ ‘cold,’ gjəcin² ‘be cool,’ jəsi⁴ ‘cold!’ (interjection); and (H) ci ‘cold,’ cin ‘be cool.’ | Note: Wilson glosses the Vietnamese reflex as lạnh, but this form is not cognate with the Muong or Mon–Khmer parallels. By contrast, Vietnamese giá and Chinese 淒 qī align more harmoniously with the wider etymological set. One wonders whether Wilson’s treatment here was more impressionistic than systematic. ]
fire	lửa	kủi	ʔuing (Bah); ʔuing (Hre); uinh (Bol, Chr); ʔuyih (Bru, Pko)	*** 火 huǒ (SV hoả, VS lửa)
many	nhiều	từ	ti dơng (Rng); diʔdong (Bnm); didong (Sed)	*** 饒 ráo (SV nhiêu, VS nhiều)
five	năm	nam	tam (Hre); pơtam (Sed); podam (Bah); pudeem (Rng), pram (Chr); prăm (Khm)	* 五 wǔ (SV ngũ, VS năm, lăm, nhăm)
heavy	nặng	nạng	ntong (Kui); leng (Katu)	**** 重 zhòng, chóng (SV trọng, trùng, VS nặng)
how	thếnào	thiớ nò	neh nó (Gar)	* 何如 hérú (SV hànhư, VS thếnào, rasao) ) | M 何 hé, hè (hà, hồ) < MC ɦɑ < OC *ɡaːl, *ɡaːlʔ || M 如 rú < MC ȵɨə̆ < OC *nja, *njas ]
blow	thổi	wơl	hul (Jeh); thuơl (Bah); thor (Bru); thui (Hre)	**** 吹 chuī (SV xuý, VS thổi)
big	to	to	toh (Cua); tơr (Bru); t'om (Khm); tomix (Alak); trok (Hre)	****** 大 dà (SV đại, VS to)
left	trái	tlai	trai (Cua); ʔdaiy (Katu)	** 左 zuǒ (SV tả, VS trái)
drink	uống	óng	oʔ (Bnm); ʔoʔ (Rng); okʔ (Lv); ok (Bol)	**** 飲 yǐn (SV ẩm, VS uống) [ M 飲 (飮) yǐn < MC ʔjim, ʔɯim < OC *qrɯmʔ, *qrɯms | Dialects: Cant. jəm21, ZYYY: ijəm2 || Note: The Mon-Khmer forms /oʔ/, /okʔ/, and /ok/ sound more like Vietnamese 'ực' /əjk8/ (swallow). | Cant. ex. 飲飲 jəm21jəm21 (VS dôdô) ]
and	và	và	baʔ/pảng (Sed); ma (Bah); mơ (Koho)	**** 和 hé (SV hoà, VS và) [ M 和 hé, huō, huò, huó, hú, hè, he, hàn (hoà, hoạ, hồ) < MC ɦwa < OC *go:l, *ɡoːls ]
bark	vỏ	ta	ntoh (Chr); kdoh (Rng); kưtoo (Sed); toʔ (Katu); kadoʔ (Bah); ʔndoh/ndoh (Bru)	*** 皮 pí (SV bì, VS vỏ, 'bark', da (skin)
black	đen	yòm	gam (Hre); nggơm (Bah); tam/yong (Katu); jong (Lv)	*** 玄 xuán (SV huyền, VS đen) [ M 玄 xuán, xuàn < MC ɦwɛn < OC *ɡʷeːn  | In C there are several word for the concept of 'black', for example, 黔 qián (VS kiền, VS đen): M 黔 qián < MC kɦiam < OC *giam | ¶ /q- ~ đ-/ | Ex. 黔首 qiánshǒu (SV kiềmthủ, VS đầuđen,. 'black hair') | In reality, like 'red', in Chinese there exist many word for 'black'. ]
turn	đi vòng [sic]	kwong	kuan (Khm)	*** 拐彎 guăiwān (SV cảiloan, VS quẹovòng |  | M 拐 guăi < MC gaɨj < OC *ɡʷroːlʔ  || M 彎 wān < MC ʔwaɨn < OC *qroːn | Note: Wilson obviously had taken the face value of the Vietnamese "đi vòng" provided by her local informant without being aware the that the Vietnamese "vòng" was totally fit those Mon-Khmer monosyllabic forms /kuan/ and kwong. In any case, the author tries to match her word 'đi vòng' with Chin.  拐彎 guăiwān that is equivalent to Vietnamese 'quẹovòng', or 'make a U turn'. ]
dig	đào	tàw	taa/tò (Koho); tyơ (Bnm); tong, tuh (Bah)	**** 鑿 zào (SV tạc, VS đào)
earth	đất	tất	kơtiiak (Katu); dơkieʔ (Chr)	**** 土 tǔ (SV thổ, độ, đỗ, VS đất)
come	đến	tíơng	teang hane (Alak); tuoh/ơtơt (Katu); tươʔ (Bru); tơrong (Bah)	*** 逮 dài (SV đại, VS tới, đến)
stand	đứng	twãng	tayưng (Bru); tưk (Cua); yuang (Bnm); yoong (Rng); yong dang (Sed)	**** 站 zhàn (SV trạm, VS đứng)
at	ở	ở	a (Biat); ae (Km); a 'from' (Chr)	**** 於 yú (SV vu, VS ở) [ M 於 yú, yū, wū (vu, hu, ư, ô) < MC ʔuo, ʔɨə̆ < OC *qa:, *qa ]

Ruth S. Wilson's analysis:

"Four points can be seen from the cognate lists: First, frequent correspondences. Second, Mương form intermediate between Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer forms. Third, a wide geographical distribution of the cognates. Fourth, significant cognate percentages between Mương and the Mon-Khmer family."

Comments:

A different conclusion can be drawn from the same lists. The correspondences between Chinese and Vietnamese, or more broadly Sino-Tibetan and Vietnamese, are equally frequent, and in fact occur with an even higher percentage of plausible cognates (see Shafer's wordlists in Chapter 10 on etymologies).

The fact that Mường forms stand between Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer may be interpreted as evidence of an intermediate vehicle transmitting words across languages. This could include numerals and other basic vocabulary items scattered across the region. Such a view aligns with the theory of a "lexical rippling effect" among neighboring languages: spatially, the Mường have long been in close proximity to the Kinh, and their languages inevitably intermingled. They shared a pool of communal words of common origin, beginning in the earliest stages of conceptual development , from basic to abstract notions, before the Viet-Mường split (Nguyen Ngoc San, ibid.). When annotated with additional Chinese parallels, these shared items help substantiate hypotheses of cognacy through cross-reference with Sino-Tibetan comparanda.

What Thomas called "fundamental words" in Mon-Khmer are likewise fundamental in both Chinese and Vietnamese. Importantly, they are cognate in more than 85 percent of cases. This raises a methodological issue: attempts to establish Vietnamese genetic affinity with Mon-Khmer solely on the basis of such wordlists are overshadowed by the equally strong resemblance between Chinese and Vietnamese. Many of these basic words are demonstrably closer to Chinese than to Mon-Khmer, not only in semantics but also in phonetic shape and other lexical attributes such as tonality, features that typically persist only in genetically affiliated languages.

To illustrate, consider the wordlists of Cambodian (modern Khmer), Mường, Vietnamese, and Chinese presented by Nguyen Ngoc San (1993: 48, 56). Although the author states that these languages have no direct genetic relation, he acknowledges that they share a set of common basic lexemes of the same origin. In fact, many of the fundamental words cognate to both Khmer and Mường also appear cognate to Chinese. This is likely not coincidental. As in the lists compiled by Thomas and Wilson, the Mon-Khmer data appear exhaustive, that is, no further plausible cognates can be added. By contrast, the Chinese-Vietnamese correspondences seem inexhaustible, with additional etyma continually surfacing. For this reason, only those items most relevant to the present investigation are included here.

x X x

Table 5 – Basic words in Vietnamese and Khmer by Nguyễn Ngọc San ^(a)

-Chinese correspondences as suggested by dchph. A count of stars * to ****** indicates degrees of cognateness between the Chinese and Vietnamese etyma in relation with the respective cited Mon-Khmer etymon. 

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong  (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese For comments and elaboration on possible cognates with Chinese etyma, please refer to Table 1.
(a) Body parts
belly	bụng		puok	******腹 fú
chin	cằm		thkiêm	****頷 hàn
leg	cẳng		keeng	****脛 jìng
neck	cổ		ko	****喉 hóu
skin	da	ta		***膚 fū
testicle	dái	tar/kơtal		****玉(丸) yù(wăn) #VS '(hòn)dái'
swipe	gạc	kaak		*****擱 gē
knee	gối	kor/ơkul		***膝蓋 xīgài [ cf. 'đầugối' ]
breath	hơithở		comhai	****氣息 qìxī
tongue	lưỡi	las		****脷 lì (Cant. /lei6/)
eyelash	mí	bir (Uýlô)		***睫 jié
nose	mũi	mus	chromuh	**鼻 bí
gut	mật		promăt	*膽 dăn [ As Vietnamese names of body parts are mostly from Chinese, "mật" is more like "脾 pì", meaning 'spleen', though, not 'gale bladder'. ]
face	mặt			****面 miàn
mouth	mỏ		chompuh	***嘴 zuǐ
sweat (oily)	mồhôi (nhớt)		nhơts	****冒汗 màohàn [ cf. 膩 nì ~ VS 'nhớt' (oily) ]
mouth	mồm		moat	****吻 wěn
armpit	nách		kliêk	***腋窩 yèwā
beard	râu	tho		****鬚 xū
tooth	răng	răng		***齡 líng
spine	sống(lưng)		khnong	***脊(梁) jǐ(liáng)
hand	tay	tay		***手 shǒu
meat	thịt		sach	***膱 zhí (SV thức)
heart	tim			******心 xīn (Hainanese /tim1/)
hair	tóc		sok	***髮 fá (SV phát) | ¶ /f- ~ t-/
trunk	vòi		compuôi	***喙 huì
breast	vú	pu		****乳 rǔ
skin (thin)	vảy	paj		***皮 pí
bone	xương		choâng	**腔 qiāng [ cf. 腔骨 qiānggǔ: VS 'xươngcốt' (bone) ]
tail	đuôi	toy	atui	**尾 wěi
buttocks	đít			****臀 diàn

Table 6 – Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(b)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong  (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(b) Action verbs by men and animals
jump	(nhảy)cởn	kal		****跳 tiāo (SV khiêu)
swallow	(nuốt)ực		ak	****咽 yàn (SV yết)
close	bít, đóng		baôt	****閉 bì (SV bế), ***關 guān (SV quan)
peel	bóc		booc	****剝 bō (SV bác) [ cf. 'variant VS 'lột' (peel off)]
bundled hairdo	búi	pul		****襆 pú
shoot	bắn		banh	****放 fàng
break off	bẻ		bec	****掰 bāi
break off	bẻ		beeh	****掰 bāi
carry in arms	bế		bây	****抱 bào
weave	bện, quấn		kbên	***編 biān, ***捲 juān
pluck	bứt		baoc	****拔 bā
sway	chaođảo		chao	***搖動 yáodòng (SV daođộng)
fry	chiên (rán)			****煎 jiān
net fishing	chài	char;		****羅 luó (SV la, VS chài, lưới) [ M 羅 luó < MC la < OC *ra:l ]
stand	chànghãng, chòhõ	chòhõ (đứng)		***伸腳 shēnjiăo, [ Also, 'dangchân' (stretch out legs). For the meaning of 'stand', however, ****站 zhàn (VS đứng) will be the word. ]
burn	cháy		chle	****灼 zhuó
wait	chămchắm (đợi)		chăm	****等等 děngděng
sway	chạngnạng		changnang	***儣俍 kuăngliáng [ Also, variant VS #'lạngchạng' }
run	chạy	chăl		****走 zǒu;
rush	chạy(rút)		rut	****走 zǒu
comb	chải;	chas		***梳 shǔ
cut, tear	chẻ, xé		cheek	****切 qiè, ****撕 sī
prick	chọc		crok	****戳 chuō
choose	chọn		chrơs	****選 xuăn
squat	chồmhỗm (ngồi trướcmặt)		chrohok [in Khmer: 'sit in the front of' ]	****犬坐 quánzuò [ in Vietnamese: 'sit like a dog' (straight up with fore legs and squatting hind legs) ]
jump(?)	cò(?)	kò		*跳 tiāo (SV khiêu)
handcuffs	còng		kong	****銬 kào
shave	cạo		kao	****刮 guā
hold	cầm		kăn	**** 擒 qín
urgent	cập, gấp		thkiep	****急 jí (SV cấp, cập, VS gấp)
stick in	cắm		koăm	***𢳍 qiān
gnaw	cắn, gặm		khăm	****啃 kěn
clip	cặp, kẹp		kiep	****夾 jiá
firewood	củi	cus		***棷 (棸) zōu
?	dong (?)		đong	?
spread(?)	dàn(?)		đal	*陳 chén (SV trần) (?) ]
rise	dậy	yơl		****起 qǐ
lead along	dắt		đâc	***牽 qiān [ cf. VS 'kéo' (pull) ]
lead along	dắt		đak	****牽 qiān
move	dọn	ktoon		****搬 bān
hide	giấu	chu		****隱 yǐn
hook up	gài	kaaj		***扣 kòu [ cf. 'cài' ]
crow	gáy	tơkel		**呝 è (OC *ʔre:k)
scratch	gãi			****抓 zhuā
knock	gõ			****敲 qiáo
meet	gặp		chuôp	****遇 yù
wash	gội		kooc	***浴 yù
rinse	gột	kot		***溉 gài
open mouth	há		ha	***哈 hā (SV ha)
choke	hóc		khok	***噎 yè
drill	khoan		khvan	****鑽 zhuān
cough out	khạc		khac	******咳 kè
stagger	kềng(càng), khệnh(khạng) (?)		nokiêng	****蹌蹌 qiāngqiāng
buzzling	laoxao		rôsao	****嘵嘵 xiāoxiāo
wailing	lu loạ (?)		lu	***號哭 hàokù [ Note: Also, the Vietnamese 'luloa', 'bùlubùloa' (wailing).
ascend	lên		laơng	***上 shàng
gaze	lóngngóng		lngong	***望望 wàngwàng [ cf. 'trôngngóng', 'ngótrông'... ]
rocking	lúclắc		hroluk	***搖搖 yáoyáo [ Note the interchange ¶ /y- ~ l-/ ]
stupefied	lơngơ		lngơơ	***愣著 lèngzhe [ cf. variant 'chếtsững', 'sữngsờ' , 'lớngớ']
glide	lượn		grôlang	****翔 xiáng [ Also, VS lạn ]
carry	mang, bưng		băng	***盤 pán, ****捧 pēng [ With 盤 pán (SV bàn), it additionally carries several other meanings, most of them cognate to those in Vietnamese, among which are vocable "bàn" (table), VS 'mâm' (tray), 'ván' (a round, such as checker games), etc. ]
lose	mất		bât	****失 shī (SV thất)
wear	mặc		pẹc	***披 pī [ Also, VS 'bận' ]
wear	mặc		pek	****披 pì (Also, VS bận)
open	mở		baơt	***開 kāi
swagger	nghênhngang		srônghanh srôngngang	****昂揚 ángyáng [ cf. symnonymous doublet VS 'ngôngnghênh' ]
yawn	ngáp		sngap	***(哈)欠 (hā)qiān
fell	ngả		p'nga	***逵 kuí
close eyes	nhắm		nhăm	****眠 mián
beg	nài(xin)		nai	***央 yāng [ cf. 央請 yāngqing: VS 'nàixin' (entreat) ]
squeeze	nén		nén	***捏 niè
shelter	nép		kneep	****匿 nì [ cf. 隱匿 yinnì: VS 'ẩnnáu' (hiding) ]
grip	nắm		noăm	****拎 lìng
sunbake	phơi (hong)		hal	***曬(烘) shāi(hōng) [ Also, VS 'sấy(hong)' | ¶ /sh- ~ ph-/, Ex. 煽 shăn (SV phiến) ]
hurry;	rảo		srao	***繞 rào
?	thelè		tlec	?
bake	thui		thui	****燒 shāo (SV 'thiêu')
wide	tùmlum		tlum	**混亂 húnluàn (SV hỗnloạn) [ VS 'tùmlum' means 'chaotic', not 'wide'. In addition, this word should not belong to this category, i.e., action words. That said, the Mon-Khmer binome is probably coincidental in sound. ]
descend	tụt		trut	***滑 huá
stroke	vuốt		chbôôt	***捋 lǚ (SV loát)
scatter	vãi		khvai	***播 bō
slice	vót		bâât	***刮 guā (SV quát) [ Also, SV 'khoát' > VS 'cạo' (shave), 'gọt' (shed) ]
surpass	vượt		foat	****越 yuè
delimit	vạch, vỡ		bach	****劃 huà
transport (?)	vấn (?), vận		voan	*****運 yùn
wave	vẫy	kơpêh	booc	****揮 huī
clap	vỗ		baôk	****拍 pāi (SV phách)
reach	với	pơơj		**騖 wù [ Also, VS 'bói' ]
pretend	vờ		pó	***偽 wěi
consume	xài (tiêu)		chai	****消 xiāo
eat	xơi		pixa, saơi	******食 shí
embrace	ôm		aôm	****擁 yōng
go	đi		đảơ	****去 qù
shake	đun, dun(dẩy)		tuul	***動 dòng [ cf. 'dundẩy' doublet 悸動 jìdòng: VS 'runrẩy' ]
follow	đòi(theo)		đoi	**隨(著) suí(zhe)
cover	đùm		đum	**包袱 bāofú \ ¶ /-f ~ -m/ [ cf. 包庇 bāobì: VS 'đùmbọc' (protect) ]
cover	đậy		das	***套 tào
give birth	đẻ	teh		****生 /te1/ (Hai.) [ cf. 生 shēng: VS 'sống' (live, unripen) ~> VS 'tái' (raw) ]
burn	đốt		dot	****燒 shāo
pour	đổ		đôh	****倒 dào
wear	đội		tuôl	****戴 dài
exchange	đổi		đôr	****兌 duì

Table 7 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(c)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(c) terms indicating family relationship
father	bố		âupuk	****父 fù
grandchild	cháu		chău	****姪 zhí
older sister	chị		chêê	******姊 zǐ [ cf. 姐 jiě, Tchiewchow-Vietnamese reads 'chế' ]
child	con		kôôn	****子 zǐ (Minnan: /kẽ/)
other (people)	kẻ (ngườita)		kê	***其(他) qí(ta) [ cf. variants of 其他 qíta: VS 'kẻkhác', 'ngườita' ]
you	mày		mi	***你 nǐ
mother	mẹ		mđây, mây	****母 mǔ
s/he	nó		no	****他 tā

Table 8 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(d)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(d) Terms indicating natural phenomena
level ground	bãi		vial	***坪 píng
bubble	bọt (nước)		popuh	****泡 pào
dust	bụi	pul		***粉 fěn
lightening	chớp	ơchơp		***閃 shăn
sand	cát		khsach	***沙 shā
mount	doiđất		chroi	****土岳 tǔyuè [ VS /tu2/ > /dɐt7/, /jwe5/ > /joj1/ ]
wind	gió		khzol	****風 fēng [ Also, VS 'giông' (windstorm) ]
cluster	khóm		cum	***群 qún
creek	lạch		preek	****澤 zé (SV trạch) [ Also, cognate VS 'rạch' ]
salt	muối		ombâl	***硭 máng
day	ngày		thngay	***日 rì
mountain	non (núi)		phnom	****山 shān [ VS 'non' > 'núi' \ ¶ /sh- ~ n-/, /-n ~ -i/ ]
water	nước;		tưk	***水 shuǐ [ Note: ancient Vietic forms /dak5/, /nak4/, which is 淂 dé (SV đắc): Vietic "đắk" || cf. 踏 tă ~ VS 'đạp' (trample). ]
sunshine	nắng		prăng	****陽 yáng
root	rễ		rưs	****蒂 dì
stream	suối		chrôôt	****泉 quán
deep	sâu		ch'râu	****深 shēn
vapor (sparse?)	thưa (?)	hơr		***氣 qì (Cant. /hej1/ ?), 疏 shū (SV thơ) (?)
soil	đất	dak		****土 tǔ
hill	đồi		tuôl	***堆 duī
copper	đồng	toang (Sách)		****銅 tóng
warm	ấm	đăng (Mường khến)	saơm	****溫 wēn

Table 9 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(e)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(e) Terms indicating space
right	chiêu (bênphải)		chvênh	**右 yōu (SV hữu)
tight	chật		chứt	****窄 zhăi
everywhere	khắp		krupp	*處處 chuchu
next to	kề		kịa	***切 qiè
this	này		ni	***茲 zī [ modern M 這 zhè ]
scattering	rải (rác)	prai		***散 sàn
large	rộng		tuliây	***廣 guăng (SV quãng) [ The Mon-Khmer form "tuliây" appears to be similar to Vietnamese "tolớn" that means "large" rather than "rộng" 廣 guăng (wide). Even Nguyễn Ngọc San, a Vietnamese scholar and a linguistic teacher, does not seen to grasp the precise concept of the cited term, let alone Thomas or Wilson. The etymon of "tolớn" is "龐大 pángdà". It is no doubt that Chinese 大 dà is cognate to Vietnamese "to", hence, 龐 páng ~ 'lớn', 'bự' in association within the context.
next	sau		kraoi	****後 hòu
region	vùng	pùung	dombon	****域 yù (SV vực)
far	xa		chngai	****遐 xiá
that	đó		nu	****那 nà
left	đăm (bêntrái)		sđăm	**左 zuǒ (SV tả, VS trái)

Table 10 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(f)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(f) Terms indicating animals
louse	chí, chấy	chi (Pakatan)		***虱 shī
dog	chó	ơcho	chke	***狗 gǒu (SV cẩu, VS 'cầy')
fish	cá	kả	pơka (Mãliềng)	****魚 yú (OC *ŋa) [ Note the interchange between the ¶ /*ŋ- ~ k-/ ]
pig	cúi (lợn)	kur	khun	**豬 zhū, ****腞 dùn (SV độn, VS lợn)
cricket	dế	tiêl		***蟋蟀 xìshuài
bear	gấu	kù		****熊 xiōng
ant	kiến	ken		**蟻 yǐ (SV nghĩ, VS kiến)
mosquito	muỗi		mụ	***蚊 wén
goose	ngan		kngan	****鵝 é (SV nga, VS ngan, ngỗng)
horde	ngựa	mangơ (Pakatan)		**馬 mă (PC **mra:h, **mra:ŋ), ****午 wǔ (SV ngọ) [ Note: Besides 午 wǔ (SV ngọ, VS ngựa), interestingly, the Pakatan form "mangơ" is cognate to 馬 mă **mra:ŋ. ]
flies, maggot	ruồi, dòi		roi	***蠅 yíng, ***蛆 qū
snake	rắn	than		***蛇 shé
scorpion	rết	thút		***蝑 xū (SV tu)
anaconda (?), wall lizard,	trăn, thằnlằn		thlan	***蟒 mǎng (Cf. 蟒蛇 mǎngshé, SV mãngxà), ***蝘蜓 yǎntíng
crab	đam (cua) (?)		kđam	***蟹 xiè [ SV giải, VS (1) cua, (2) cáy, (3) khía, (4) ghẹ. Note: Hainanese /χoj/ ]
leech	đỉa	te		****蛭 zhì

Table 11 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(g)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(g) Terms indicating plants
gourd	bí	pir		***匏 pāo (SV biều, VS bầu)
banana	chuối		chec	****蕉 jiāo (SV chiêu)
tree	cây	kâr		**樹 shù
mortar	cối	kor		****臼 jìu (SV cựu)
root	cội, gốc		kul	****根 gēn
?	gài	kaaj		?
cluster	khóm, cụm	cum		***群 qún
paddy	lúa (dialect: lọ)		srâu	****來 lái [ Starostin: 稻 dào (SV đạo) ]
sugar cane	mía		ompẩu	Etymology: Proto-Vietic *k-mɛːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *klmiəʔ. Also: Muong mỉa, Khmu klmeʔ
shoot (bamboo)	măng		tumpeng	***萌 méng
glutinous rice	nếp		domnip	****糯 nuò
mango	soài		svai	**** 檨 shē (SV soa) [ suã (Amoy) ]
sugar palm	thốtnốt		thnaốt	?
fruit	trái(quả)		phlee	****(果)實 (guǒ)shí
betel	trầu		mlu	****檳榔 bīnláng
paddy	tẻ (lúa)		sai;	**(稻)米 (dào)mǐ
?	vả	pả		?
?	vọp (?)	poap		?
fruit skin	vỏ	pỏ		****皮 pí
sprout	đâm(chồi), mọc	đăm		**萌芽 méngyá

Table 12 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(h)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(h) Terms indicating tools and utensils
chop	bửa	pwa		***礕 pī
pestle	chày	ksay (Thạchbì)	khay (Vânmông)	***杵 chǔ (SV xử)
row	chèo		cheo	***棹 zhào
barn	cót, vựathóc	caot		***庫 kū (SV khố, VS kho)
string	dây		khse;	****線 xiàn
sarong	khố	khao		****褲 kù (archaic SV 'khố', mod. M = 'pants')
jar	lọ		krolo	***罍 léi
mosquito net	mùng	mung		***網 wăng
basket	nong	kảdong;		**囊 nàng (SV nàng)
knob	núm	kảdum		***鈕 nǐu VS 'nút' (button)
lid	nắp	dap		**套 tào
raft	phà	vac (Mon)		***筏 fá
screen panel	phênh		pheeng	****屏 píng (SV bình)
axe	rìu	siw		****鉞 yuè (SV việt)
steering oar	sào		sao	****梢 shāo (SV sao)
milk	sữa(tươi)		ksây	**乳汁 rǔzhī
lime	vôi	pôôl		****灰 huì (SV muội)
fabric	vải		kbas	****布 bù
fabric	vải(vóc)	pas		***布(料) bù(liào)
lamp	đèn	kơten		****燈 dēng
ferry	đò		đo	***渡 dù (SV độ)

Table 13 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ⁽ⁱ⁾

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(i) Terms indicating burning and cooking
roast	ang, nướng		ăng	***烘 hōng [ Also, VS 'hong' (dry) ]
burnt	bỏng		kropoung	****炃 fén
deep fry	chiên		chhien	****煎 jiān [ Also, VS 'rán', 'rang' ]
burn	cháy		chhe	****灼 zhuó
broil	chườm		choom	***炙 zhì
fry	chả		cha	***炸 zhà
dry on fire	hơ		chlơ	****烘 hōng [ Also, VS' hong' ]
stew	kho		kho	****扣 kòu (Cant., ex. 扣肉 kòuròu: VS 'ruốckho')
delicious	ngon		chngan	***香 xiāng
roast	quay (rán)		khvay	****烤 kăo
fry in shallow oil	rang		ling	***煎 jiān [ Also, VS 'rán', 'chiên' ]
deep fry	rán		comranh	***煎 jiān [ Also, VS 'rán', 'rang' ]
broil	thui		thui	***燒 shāo (SV thiêu) [ Also, VS 'đốt' (burn) ]
bake in coal	vùi	pur	popuur	****烙 lào [ Also, VS 'lụi' ]
charred burn	xém		chnghiem	***煓 tuān
forge	đập		teh	***煅 duàn
burn	đốt	tut	đot	***燒 shāo

Table 14 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(j)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(j) Terms indicating senses
spicy hot	cay	kar		****苦 kǔ (SV khổ) [ Note that modern M 苦 kǔ means 'bitter' while for the connotation of 'spicy' is M 辣 là. ]
sour	chua		chu	****酸 suān
puckery	chát		chot	***澀 sè
strong order (garlickery)	hăng		hăng	***濃 nóng [ Also, VS 'nồng' ]
ill-smelling	khắm (?)		khmoh	*餿 sòu
salty	mặn		prăn;	***鹹 xián (Cant. /ham2/)
fishy	tanh		srêêng	****腥 xīng
appetite	thèm (nhem nhẻm nhèm nhem)		banhem	****thèm 饞 chán (SV 'sàm')
smelly	thối, thúi		sôui	******臭 chòu (SV 'xú')
sweet	êm (ngọt)		phớêêm	***𩜌 yuē (SV ngạt), VS 'êm' (?) [ This etymon is rediculously posited for Vietnamese 'ngọt'. ]
deaf	điếc	tek		*失聰 shīcōng [ <= (contraction of) SV 'thấtthông' /t'ât7t'oņʷ1/: '失聰 shīcōng' (loss of hearing) ]

Table 15 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(k)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(k) Terms indicating state of appearance (adjectives)
sad	buồn		pruôi	****悶 mèn (SV muộn)
lowly mean	bậpbềnh (?)		pêpao	***卑賤 bēijiàn [ VS 'bêbối', also, SV 'đêtiện', plausibly means 'lowly mean' while 'bậpbềnh' is 'floating, drifting in the water' (漂浮 piāofú). ]
weary	chán		chal	****倦 juàn [ cf. 厭倦 yānjuàn: VS 'chánchường' ]
greedy	chướng (thamlam)		chkoong	***貪(婪) tān(lán) [ modern Vietnamese is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese form 'tham(lam)'. For 'chướng' it is possible that is the sound change result of the interchange ¶ /th- ~ ch-/ ]
skinny	còi		khsaoi	***瘦 sòu [ Other derived variants VS 'còm' < 'còi' < 'gầy' < 'gò' < 'sỏ' < 瘦 sòu (SV sấu) ]
skinny	còm		skom	***瘦 sòu [ Derivatives: VS 'còm' < 'còi' < 'gầy' < 'gò' < 'sỏ' < 瘦 sòu (SV sấu) ]
haughty	căng		kênh	****嬌 jiāo (VS 'kênh')
old	già, cha		chas	***耆 qí
aggressively strong	hăng(mạnh)		kh'lăng	****兇(猛) xiōng(měng) [ SV hung(mãnh) ]
tired	mệt		khmaơt	****疲 pí
new	mới		thmây	***萌 méng
narrow	quắt(hẹp)		chongyết	****狹窄 jiázhǎi (VS chậthẹp)
tattered	rách		rôyêk	***襤 lán
limp	thọt		khchook	**腿瘸 tuǐqué [ <~ ® contraction of VS 'càthọt' ('be lame) ]
young	trẻ		khchây	***稚 zhǐ (SV trĩ)
happy	vui		prơi	****快 kuài (Cant. /fai1/)
weak	yếu		khaoi	****弱 ruò

Table 16 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(l)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(l) Terms indicating counting numbers
three	ba		bây	***三 sān [ SV 'tam', Hai. /ta1/; also, 仨 sā: SV 'ta', VS 'ba' ]
seven	bảy	píh (Sách)		*七 qī [ SV thất, interchange ¶ /q-/ ~ /b-/. cf. 匹 p (SV 'thất) ]
four	bốn		buôn	*四 sì (SV 'tứ', VS 'tư')
one	một		muôi	***一 yī [ SV 'nhất' > VS 'một' ]
five	năm		prăm	**五 wǔ [ SV ngũ, /w-/ ~ /n-/, Hainanese /ŋaw2/ 五十 /ŋaw2tap8/: VS 'nămchục' (fifty-five); for /lăm/ \ /-lan2/, as in '三十五 ta1tap8lan2: VS 'bamươilăm' (thirty-five) ]
two	vài, hai	bar (Ủylô)	pir	***二 èr [ SV 'nhị' /nhej6/ > /haj1/ | Note: compare the initial /b-/ (p-) with number 'two' in those Mon-Khmer languages. ]

Table 17 - Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ^(m)

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(m) Terms indicating adverbs
suddenly	chợt, suýt		chơt	***突 tù (SV đột) ['suddenly'], ***差點兒 chàdiănr (VS 'suýt') [ 'narrowly', contraction ]
miss	dỡ(dang)		stơr	***(耽)誤 (dàn)wù
about	khoảng		khtuông	***差不多 chàbùduo [ contraction ]
otherwise, or else	kẻo		krêêng	***要不(然) yàobù(rán) [ contraction ]
very	rất		rưt	***極 jí (SV cực)
conspire	rắp (?)		răp	***協 xié (SV hiệp) [ cf. VS 'rắptâm' 協心 xiéxīn (make concerted efforts)
about to	sắp		somrăp	***將 jiāng
leftover	thừa		sol	***乘 chēng (SV thừa)

Table 18 – Basic words in Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, and Chinese ⁽ⁿ⁾

English meaning	Vietnamese	Muong (Uýlô, Thavừng, Sách)	Cambodian	Chinese
(n) Other words
crinkle	chau(mày)	cho (Thàvừng)		****皺(眉) zhóu(méi)
lucky	hên (may)		hêng	****幸 xìng (SV hạnh)
turn	lượt		lơc	***輪 lún
clearly(?), be	rõ, là		la	**是 shì [ Note on the interchange ¶ /sh- ~ l-/ ]
misfortune	rủi, sui		khsui	****祟 suì [ Note on the interchange ¶ /s- ~ r-/ ]
black	đen	ten (Sách)		***縝 chēn
spill	đổ	kơtoh (Thavừng)		***倒 dào (SV đảo)
overturn	đỗ	tuh (Thavừng)		***倒 dăo (SV đảo)

In all the wordlists above, the same issues arise regarding the affiliation of Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer. What matches between Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer often also matches between Chinese and Vietnamese. Formally: { Vietnamese ~ Mon-Khmer => Chinese ~ Vietnamese }. For example, Thavừng /cho/ vs. Chinese 皺(眉) zhóu(méi) ~ VS 'chau(mày)' "crinkle". However, the reverse is not always true: { Chinese ~ Vietnamese > Vietnamese ± Mon-Khmer }. The reason is that there are many Sinitic-Vietnamese basic words cognate with Chinese that have no equivalents in Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer at all.

For the Mon-Khmer ~ Vietnamese words cited above, the real problem is that these cognates appear isolated and scattered across different Mon-Khmer languages. The phenomenon is not uniform, and several examples are plausibly dubious.

The key point is that analyses supporting the Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer origin of Vietnamese are often based on such wordlists, moving from false premises to false conclusions. Nguyễn Ngọc San (1993), in his Tìm hiểu về Tiếng Việt Lịch sử ("Research on the historical linguistics of Vietnamese"), provides a summary of Mon-Khmer to Vietnamese correspondences that illustrates this problem. His passage, translated here, contains interpretations that are misleading, though his book also provides valuable data and many valid arguments.

"Most of the basic words hard to verify in terms of timeline are of Mon-Khmer and Tai-Kadai origin. Words of Tai-Kadai origin changed less because their phonological system has been closer to Vietnamese since the 10th century. For Mon-Khmer roots it is more difficult to pinpoint the period because they have changed a lot. Derived words formed later show further divergence from the original meaning. For example, the Vietnamese word chẻ [dchph: actually cognate to 切 qiè 'cut'] evolved from Khmer cheek and both are close in semantics. When the same root shifted to become xé [actually cognate to 撕 sī 'tear off'] (following the pattern ch > x), the derived form conveys a new meaning. Similarly, cắn [Chinese 嗑 kè 'bite'] is still close to khăm, but its derivative gặm [cognate with 啃 or 豤 kěn 'gnaw'] drifts further. The meaning of cụt [孑孒 jiéjué, as in 'cụtngủn' 'pretty short'] appears close to cot, but departs further when ngủn [Chinese 短 duăn ~ Vietnamese 'ngắn' > 'ngủn' (short in length), 'lùn' (short in height)] evolved as a derivative with changed semantics. When a new word was formed, it took over the function of the older form and its significance evolved accordingly. For instance, the chas of Mon-Khmer origin meaning 'head of a village,' equivalent to pò in Tai-Kadai, changed when it evolved into cha [actually Vietnamese 'cha' is plausibly cognate with 爹 diè 'father' with interchange /t- ~ ch-/; also the etymon of VS 'tía' 'daddy'; hence the rest of this statement is false] in Vietnamese. Its meaning was still close when it changed into già (following /ch-/ > /gi-/) as in giàlàng [probably equivalent to 鄉長 xiāngzhăng or 里長 lǐzhăng 'village chief,' where 鄉 xiāng or 里 lǐ could plausibly evolve into 'làng' 'village']. It still retained the original meaning by the time cha emerged, which then came to mean 'head of the household,' the leader of a small agricultural unit of a family." (Nguyen Ngoc San 1993: 110)

This type of postulation is typical in works that cite similar wordlists to support the Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer origin of Vietnamese. Readers without a background in historical linguistics may take such rebuttals of randomly chosen etyma as authoritative. To be clear, Nguyen Ngoc San's book is an important and valuable work, and I have extracted much useful etymological data from it. However, scattered misleading or incorrect statements risk becoming the baseline for the next generation of linguists.

For example, on pages 154-155 (Nguyen Ngoc San 1993), in discussing the teaching of historical Vietnamese in schools, he concludes that all Vietnamese basic words beginning with /ch-/ instead of /tr-/ are "pure Vietnamese" native words. This is far from the truth. What he actually meant is "true Vietnamese sound" vs. "Chinese sound." A few examples illustrate the problem:

Vietnamese (VS)	Sino-Vietnamese (SV)	Chinese Character	Mandarin Reading	Gloss / Notes
chổi (broom)	trửu, chửu	帚	zhǒu	broom
chuồng (pen)	khuyên, quyển	圈	quān / juān	animal pen
chén (bowl)	tràn, trản	盞 (琖)	zhǎn	bowl
cha (father)	đa	爹	diè	father
chị (older sister)	tỷ	姊	zǐ	older sister
chú (paternal uncle)	thúc	叔	shù	paternal uncle
cháu (nephew)	chí	侄	zhí	nephew/descendant
chấy (louse)	siết	虱	shī	louse
chuột (mouse)	thử	鼠	shǔ	mouse
chuồnchuồn (dragonfly)	thanhđình	蜻蜓	qīngtíng	dragonfly
chài (net)	la	羅	luó	fishing net (VS 'lưới')
chỉ (point)	chỉ	指	zhǐ	to point, finger
chạy (run)	tẩu	走	zǒu	run
chèo (paddle)	trạo, trác	棹	zhào / zhuō	paddle
chôn (bury)	táng	葬	zàng	bury
chừa (exclude)	trừ	除	chú	exclude
chèo (mock, laugh at)	trào, trêu	嘲	cháo	ridicule
chém (chop)	trảm	斬	zhǎn	chop
chầy (slow)	trì, trễ	遲	chí	slow, late

As Nguyen Ngoc San has argued, from today’s perspective all Pre-Han-Viet words should be considered integral elements of the Vietnamese lexicon, indispensable in both function and role. For instance, the Vietnamized phòng pairs productively with native words to form compounds, just as the Pre-SV buồng 房 fáng (SV phòng, 'room') does. Both buồng and phòng serve as lexical building blocks beyond their core meaning 'room': buồngtắm ('bathroom') and buồnglái (pilothouse) are semantically identical to phòngtắm and phònglái. However, unlike phòng, buồng can extend to other disyllabic variants with "chamber-like" meanings, such as buồngtrứng ('ovary' 卵巢), buồngcau ('a hand of areca nuts' 串檳榔), and buồngchuối ('a hand of bananas' 串香蕉). In these contexts, phòng cannot be substituted. Thus, buồng- is best regarded as a purely native element (Nguyen Ngoc San, p. 67), even though it ultimately derives from Old Chinese as a Pre-Sino-Vietnamese form.

Many further examples can be cited, such as 子 zǐ, which underlies several Vietnamese classifiers: cái- ('item'), con- ('living being'), trái- ('fruit'), or 場 chăng, which corresponds to sân-, giấc-, trận-, cơn-, and others, as discussed in the introductory chapters.

x X x

III) Cultural and polysyllabic approaches: Distinguishing Vietnamese vocabulary from Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer

Most of the examples above have little to do with Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer languages. One may play both the role of historical linguist and judge, but it is more important to provide explanations for those words that are genuine cognates across all languages under consideration.

When reaching a final judgment, cultural factors must be given high regard. In the case of the etyma "chas", "già" and "cha", the Chinese 爹 diè offers a better fit in the overall picture. The etymology of a word is not only about its phonetic shell or semantic core (for example, tía for "daddy"), but also about its cultural story. The distinction between tía ('daddy') and cha ('father') reflects different layers of meaning, even though both trace back to the same root 爹 diè ~ SV đa versus 爸 bā ~ Shaanxi ta. These doublets are basic words that all languages must have possessed independently, without the need for borrowing, as recognized in historical linguistics. Their cognacy can be explained as etyma of the same human root, belonging to the class of universally basic words, much like /mat/ with Vietnamese mắt ("eye"), which appears across many Asian languages. Yet only Chinese 目 mù (SV mục) "eye" is culturally aligned with Vietnamese, as shown in shared idiomatic usage: 盲目 mángmù ~ VS mùquáng ("blindly"), 目擊 mùjí (SV mụckích) ~ VS mắtthấy ("witness"), and so forth.

In other words, unless proven otherwise, Sino-Tibetan etymologies, which show stronger cognacy with Vietnamese, should take precedence over Mon-Khmer comparisons. This is because Chinese-Vietnamese cognates carry not only linguistic features but also embedded cultural implications, displayed syllable by syllable in both tonal languages. For example, 葉落歸根 yèluòguīgēng corresponds directly to Vietnamese lárụngvềcội ("the dying leaf falls back to the tree root," figuratively "people long to die in their birthplace"), a sentiment shared collectively by both Chinese and Vietnamese. Similarly, 衣架飯囊 yījiàfànnáng ~ VS giááotúicơm ("good-for-nothing bum") has no equivalent in Mon-Khmer.

From the perspective of historical linguistics, looking back 2,000 years and considering the millennium of Chinese rule, it is logical to assume that many modern Vietnamese words were either derived from Chinese or evolved from the same roots. This holds regardless of whether individual Mon-Khmer matches exist for words like lá ("leaf"), rụng ("fall"), về ("back"), and cội ("root"), since only in Chinese-Vietnamese correspondence do they combine into complete idiomatic expressions.

Forrest (1948, p.25) put it well when he paraphrased Karlgren’s words (K) in his work that:

“it is faulty method to compare [..] an isolated word in each of the languages; rather must the comparison begin with related groups of words in one and in the other language, words which, linked in both form and meaning, involve a buried phonetic element common to their group, beside which may be placed a similarly constituted group in other language.”

With respect to grouping, cognates should be examined in related batches of words belonging to the same semantic class. For example, we already recognize Sinitic-Vietnamese words such as 'đầu' 頭 tóu (head), 'mặt' 面 miàn (face), 'mắt' 目 mù (eye), 'tim' 心 xīn (heart), 'trán' 顙 săng (forehead), and others. Many of these are so obvious that they are barely mentioned in this paper. By extension, it is highly plausible that other anatomical terms may also be traced to cognate etyma in the same class. For instance, if 'phổi' 肺 fèi (lung), 'gan' 肝 gān (liver), and 'thận' 腎 shèn (kidney) are cognate with their Chinese counterparts, then related lexemes such as 'bụng' 腹 fù (abdomen) and 'dạ' 胃 wèi (stomach) are likewise strong candidates for cognacy.

Furthermore, Chinese often preserves parallel native entities within each lexical class that have been fully Sinicized but remain distinct in usage due to their geo-historical origins. Some of these may plausibly reflect southern sources. Examples include: 'river' 江 jiāng vs. 河 hé, 'water' 水 shuǐ vs. 淂 dé, 'creek' 川 chuān vs. 泉 quán, 'dog' 犬 quǎn vs. 狗 gǒu, 'face' 面 miàn vs. 臉 liǎn, 'blood' 血 xuè vs. 衁 huāng, 'head' 首 shǒu vs. 頭 tóu, 'eye' 目 mù vs. 眼 yǎn, 'leg' 足 zú vs. 腳 jiǎo. Within each class, extended forms can often be identified from monosyllabic roots. For example, 犬坐 quǎnzuò may plausibly correspond to VS "chồmhỗm" (squat), rather than the Khmer 'chrohom' (sit in front) (Nguyen Ngoc San, ibid., p. 49).

Our new approach emphasizes dissyllabicity, incorporating not only Forrest's "categorical principle" but also derived disyllabic formations. For example: 'dạ' 胃 wèi > 'baotử' 胃子 wèizi (stomach), and 'tâm' 心 xīn (heart) > 'tấmlòng' 心腸 xīncháng (inner heart).

As noted earlier, earlier scholarship on Vietnamese etymology was generally conducted under the assumption that Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language. We will retain the valuable achievements of that tradition, such as Thomas' axiom of sound change, or more precisely, "phoneme shifts and mergers, as their imprint is indelible" (Thomas, ibid.). In comparison with monosyllabic roots, we will analyze how subsequent sound changes unfolded under different phonetic and semantic conditions, and how dissyllabic variants emerged in cultural contexts.

In other words, Vietnamese etyma should be studied within a contextual framework that embraces their full wholeness, both monosyllabic and dissyllabic forms, linguistic peculiarities, and cultural accentuation. Only then can specific words be reliably assessed for kinship, original meaning, and even approximate timelines of borrowing. Even without explicit chronological markers, linguists can often secure an etymon with confidence by analyzing lexical residues scattered across different topologies. From the examples cited below, we can identify archaic Vietic and Old Chinese etyma within a cultural framework. Except for the first five Vietnamese vocables taken from Nguyen Ngoc San's wordlists (ibid., pp. 98, 161), the etymologies of the other cases may be more complex than they appear here.

Vietnamese	Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning	Notes
anhtam	兄弟	xiōngdì	brothers	~> 'anhem' (possibly from 兄妹 xiōngmēi 'older brother and younger sister')
cổlỗ	古老	gǔlǎo	antiquated	'cổ' 古 gǔ (SV cổ) 'ancient' + 'lỗ' 老 lǎo (SV lão) 'old'; Vietic /klũ/
cáisọ	骷髏	gǔlóu	skeleton	<~ 'càlồ' 骷髏 gǔlóu (cổlâu) = 骨骼 gǔgé (SV cốtcách); Vietic /kro/
thiêngliêng	神靈	shénlíng	sacred	<~ SV 'thầnlinh', Vietic /tliêng/ ~> 'thiêngliêng' ~> 'lành'; ex. đấtlành: 地靈 dìlíng (good earth)
chồmhỗm	犬坐	quǎnzuò	squat	(literally) 'squat like a dog'
hiềnlành	善良	shànliáng	kindness	#<~ SV 'lươngthiện'
sumvầy	團聚	tuánjù	reunion	<~ SV 'đoàntụ'
nóichuyện	嘮嗑	làokè	chat	(Chinese northeastern dialect), cf. 聊天 liáotiān 'talk'
luitới	溜達	liùdá	stroll	(Chinese northeastern dialect)
xarời	疏離	shūlí	stay away
điđám	隨錢	suíqián	give a monetary present	also VS 'đitiền'
đầunậu	頭腦	tóunǎo	big shot	SV 'đầunão' ('head' = VS 'đầunão' 'headquarter') = 首腦 shǒunǎo (SV thủnão) ~ VS 'đầunão' > 'sọnão' (brain)
khốnnạn	混蛋	húndàn	insult / hardship	SV 'hỗnđản'; cf. 困難 kùnnán: SV 'khốnnạn' (hardship)
hỗnhào	溷肴	húnxiáo	confused	~> 'impolite' in Viet.; cf. 溷淆 húnxiáo, 溷肴 hùnyáo, 渾殽 hùnyáo, 混淆 hùnxiáo, all 'hỗnhào' in V.

To adopt this new holistic approach, we must look beyond phonological resemblance and semantic equivalence, and also consider cognates within related categorical sets. Forrest’s concept of "related groups of words" can be extended further: we apply it not only to words tied to a shared conceptual domain, but also to their expanded dissyllabic variants. These forms often preserve both phonological continuity and distinctive semantic nuance. This is especially important because, in Forrest’s time, many specialists of Vietnamese still debated the role of dissyllabicity as a defining feature of the lexicon in languages such as Vietnamese and Chinese.

As an illustration of how dissyllabicity influences categorical sound change, we may begin with etyma for human body parts and their dissyllabic derivatives. From there, the analysis can be expanded to other fundamental domains, such as kinship terms, which are widely regarded in historical linguistics as among the most stable elements of vocabulary, resistant to change across time.

 While each word has its own distinct denotation, it is also connotatively linked to other polysyllabic word-concepts within the same lexical class. For example:

• 目 mù (SV mục, VS mắt ‘eye’) must be considered a cognate, since it belongs to a larger lexical set within its semantic sphere and makes peculiar sense in fixed connotative expressions:

  • 目光 mùguāng (SV mụcquang): VS # ánhmắt ("the look of one’s eyes") [reverse order (#) with 光 guāng as ánh; M 光 guāng < MC kwɑŋ < OC kʷa:ŋ. According to Starostin: also read kʷa:ŋ-s, MC kwʌŋ, Mand. guàng "be extensive" (< kʷa:ŋʔ-s, cf. 廣). Schuessler prefers kʷa:ŋ with level tone, but Karlgren distinguishes it from kʷa:ŋ "be bright." Viet. quáng "to dazzle, blind" is a colloquial loan (reflecting *kʷa:ŋ-s > MC kwʌŋ "be bright, dazzle"); standard SV is quang.]

  • 盲 máng (SV manh): VS mù ("blind") [M 盲 máng < MC maiŋ < OC mhra:ŋ].

  • 盲目 mángmù (SV manhmục): VS # mùquáng ("blind, blindly, indiscriminately") [whole contextual loan with dissyllabicity, similar to 目光 mùguāng].

Other related forms include:

• 睇 dí [Cant. /t'aj3/]: VS thấy ("see") [modern Cantonese "gaze"].

• 瞅 chǒu (SV thiễu): VS xem ("look") [cf. M 瞅 chǒu ~ phonetic M 愁 chóu < MC ʐjəw < OC dhu].

• 瞧 qiáo (SV tiều): VS coi ("look") [M 瞧 qiáo < MC tsɦaw < OC dzaw].

• 眼 yăn (SV nhãn): VS nhìn ("look") [Mand. "eye," extended semantically].

• 親眼 qīnyăn: VS chínhmắt ("see with one’s own eyes") [cf. 目擊 mùjí (SV mụchkích) → VS chínhmắt].

• 眼光 yănguāng: VS # cáinhìn ("view, sight") [innovation; cf. 目光 mùguāng "look"].

• 眼力 yănlì (SV nhãnlực): VS # sứcnhìn ("eyesight") [conceptualization].

• 眼淚 yănlèi: VS # nướcmắt ("tear") [association].

• 眼眶 yănkuāng: VS # khoémắt ("rim of the eye") [reverse order].

• 眼屎 yănshǐ: VS ghèn ("gum in the eye") [contraction].

• 眼皮 yănpí: VS # mímắt ("eyelid") [reverse order].

• 眼鏡 yănjìng: VS # kínhmắt ("eyeglasses") [also mắtkính 目鏡 mùjìng, Hainanese /mat7keng1/].

• 眼前 yănqián: VS # trướcmắt = 目前 mùqián [hence trướcmặt "at the moment," reverse order].

• 眉目 méimù: VS manhmối ("clue, lead"), vẻmặt ("countenance") [adaptation].

• 眉毛 méimáo: VS mimắt ("eyelash") [association].

• 眉梢 méishāo: VS # chânmày ("eyebrow") [reverse order].

• 刺眼 cìyăn: VS ngứamắt ("unpleasant to the eye") [also doublet gaimắt].

• 小心眼 xiăoxīnyăn: VS nhỏnhen ("narrow-minded") [contraction].

• 老天有眼 lăotiānyǒuyăn: VS # trờicaocómắt ("Heaven is watching") [association].

• 眉來眼去 méiláiyănqù: VS # liếcmắtđưaduyên ("make eyes") [innovation].

• 耳聞目見 ěrwénmùjiàn: VS tainghemắtthấy ("seeing and hearing in person") [association].

• 耳聞不如目見 ěrwén bùrú mùjiàn: VS # trămnghe đâubằng mắtthấy = 耳聞不如眼見 ěrwén bùrú yănjiàn ("seeing for oneself is better than hearing from others") [association].

• 果報眼前 guǒbàoyănqián: VS # quảbáonhãntiền ("karmic retribution within one’s lifetime") [loan and translation of 現世報 xiànshìbào].

And so forth.

For the specific examples above, beyond the natural adoption of Sino-Vietnamese forms such as nhãn for 眼 yǎn, it is worth noting that the Mon-Khmer form /phnek/ may also be cognate with Vietnamese mắt ("eye"), through a historical sound change /phn-/ ~ /m-/ in either direction. This raises broader questions: how did speakers of these languages express the act of "looking" and "seeing"? How did they conceptualize "perception" through the eyes? What idioms relating to vision evolved in their languages, and how were the meanings of "eye" extended into compounds that moved beyond monosyllabicity into the polysyllabic realm?

In all such cases, Chinese and Vietnamese cognates align seamlessly, both phonologically and semantically, because they ultimately derive from the same etymological source. This shared inheritance predates the separation of Vietic and Mường, which occurred at least 2,100 years ago, and persisted despite the influx of successive Chinese dialects brought by repeated Han incursions during the millennium of Chinese rule. Even after Vietnam’s independence in the 10th century, Chinese forces attempted invasions almost every decade, leaving a profound linguistic imprint.

The historical parallel is clear: just as the Spanish conquest of South America in the 15th century resulted in more than half the continent speaking Spanish long after independence, so too did centuries of Chinese domination leave Vietnamese deeply interwoven with Sinitic vocabulary and idioms.

From this perspective, we can continue to trace countless other examples where Chinese and Vietnamese forms correspond, both monosyllabically and dissyllabically, and where etyma share the same contextual associations. To illustrate further, let us now turn to additional examples drawn from the semantic field of human body parts and related concepts that appear in both languages.

• zuǐ 嘴: môi 'lip',
• zuǐbā 嘴巴:VS # 'bờmôi' (lip),
• zuǐyìng 嘴硬 : VS # 'rángcải' (long-tongued),
• duōzuǐ 多嘴: VS 'giàmồm' (talk back verbosely) [ for 'già', cf. 多 duō (SV 'đa') ~ 'già' <~ 'cha' <~ 'tía' 爹 diè (SV 'đa') ]
,
• dòuzuǐ 鬥嘴: VS 'đấukhẩu' (quarrel ) [ associate of 嘴 with a symnonym 口 kǒu (mouth), a common linguistic phenomenon. ],
• wāizuǐ 歪嘴: VS 'méomõ' (wry mouth) ],
• piě​zuǐ 撇嘴: VS 'bĩumôi' (curl one's lips) [ Aslo, doublet 'trềmôi' ],
• wénzuǐ 吻嘴: hônmôi 'lip kissing', [ 吻 wén: VS: 'hôn' ~> 'hun' (kiss). Also, wén 吻: mồm 'mouth' (doublet of 'miệng') ],
• 嘴
• dìng 腚: đít 'buttocks',
  • dìng 腚: VS 'đít' (buttocks),
  • tún 臀: VS 'trôn' (buttocks) [ cf. SV 'đồn' ].
  • pì 屁: VS địt (fart) [ cf. SV 'tí '| M 屁 pì (tí, thí, thỉ) < MC pʰi < OC *pʰis ],
  • pìgǔ 屁股: VS 'phaocâu' (chicken's butt) [ modern M 'buttocks' vs. VS 'lỗđít' (anus) ],
• shǐ 屎: VS 'cứt' (feces) [ cf. SV 'thiệt'. Also, VS 'dử', 'ráy' (excrement) | M 屎 shǐ < MC shǐ < OC *ʂij < PC *kijh, ʂijh (Zhou zyxlj ]., p.251) | Shafer: TB *kip, Burmese: khjijh excrement, Kachin: khji3 excrement, Dimasa: khi, Garo: khi, Bodo: kí, Kham kī; Kanauri khoa, Bahing khl, Digaro: klai. Simon 19; Sh. 44; Ben. 39; Mat. 191.];
• èshǐ 屙屎: 'ỉa(cứt)' (poop),
• gǒushǐ 狗屎: VS # 'cứtchó' (dog's feces),
• ěrshǐ 耳屎: VS # 'cứtráy' (ear wax),
• ěrduo 耳朵: VS lỗtai (ear) [ by association and assimilation ],

of which 耳 ěr is associated with


• ěrlóng 耳聾: VS # 'lãngtai' (partially deaf) [ VS 'lãng' <~ lãngtai <~ @ ®M 耳聾 ěrlóng ('deaf') | M 聾 lóng < MC ləwŋ < OC *ro:ŋ ]
• tīng 聽: VS 'nghe' (hear) [ cf. (Hainanese /k'e1/) ],


• jiăo 腳: VS 'chân' (leg) [ M 腳 jiăo, jué < MC kɨak < OC *kaɡ | cf. zú 足: VS 'giò' ]

which makes
• bājiăo 巴腳: VS 'bànchân' (foot sole) [ (literally) "a 'panel' of the foot". cf. 腳板 jiăobăn (dialectal) 'sole'; cf. bàntay 手板 shǒubăn (palm) ],
• què 瘸: què 'limp' (SV cài) [ M 瘸 què, qué < MC gwa < OC *ɡʷal ];
• shǒu 手 (SV thù) ~ zhăng 掌 (SV chưởng): tay 'hand', which makes the
  • shǒubăn 手板: VS 'bàntay' (palm) [ (literally) "a 'panel' of the hand". cf. bàntay 巴掌 bāzhăng (dialectal) 'hand' ].
  
  Like 掌 zhăng (palm) in bāzhăng 巴掌 'hand', a later development 手板 shǒubăn after 手 shǒu 'tay' (hand), at the same time 手 appears in other related compounds that have given rise to many Vietnamese words with the same structure as in:
  
  • kōngshǒu 空手: VS 'taykhông' (empty-handed)' [ Also,' (bare hand', cf '空手道 Kōngshǒudào': SV 'Khôngthủđạo' (Karate) ] ,
  • xiàshǒu 下手: VS 'hạthủ' (put one's hand to) [VS 'ratay' ],
  • shǒuxià 手下: VS 'thủhạ' (subordinate) [ VS 'taydưới' (underdog) ],
  • chàshǒu 插手: VS 'ratay' (put hand in),
  • dòngshǒu 動手: VS 'độngthủ' (put one's hand to),
  • shǒuruăn 手軟: VS 'nươngtay' (lenient),
  • qiáoshǒu 巧手: VS 'khéotay' (skillfu)',
  • gāoshǒu 高手: VS 'caotay' (upper hand),
  • shùnshǒu 順手: VS 'thuậntay' (handy, at one's convenience),
  • qīngshǒu 輕手: VS 'nhẹtay' (light-handed),
  • zhòngshǒu 重手: VS 'nặngtay 'heavy-handed',
  • shǒuzhú 手足: VS 'taychân' (hands and feet) [ cf. 手腳 shǒujiăo 'taychân' (in the context of 'close kinship'), ]
  • yīshǒu 一手: VS 'mộttay' (connoisseur) [ Also, VS 'mộtcây' which might have evolved from yī shǒu 一手, literally meaning 'one hand' or 'single-handed' (subsituting 'cây' for shǒu while in Chinese it means 'he himself, he with his hand... doing something). cf. cây 樹 shù (SV thụ) 'tree' ],
  
  and sometimes with alternations as the result of local innovation while the main core meaning still remains sticky, such as
  
  
  • shuǐshǒu 水手: VS 'thuỷthủ' (sailor) ~> 'taychèo' (rower),
  • qiáoshǒu 巧手: VS 'khéotay' (skillful) ~> 'hoatay' (magic hand),
  • xiàshǒu 下手: VS 'ratay' (act with one's hands) ~> 'xuốngtay' (put one's hand to),
  • shǒuxià 手下: VS 'kẻdưới' (assistant) ~> 'dướitay' (subordinate),
  • chàshǒu 插手: VS 'xíavào' (interfere),
  • dòngshǒu 動手: VS 'nhúngtay' (have one's hand in),
  • shǒuruăn 手軟: VS 'nhẹtay' (lenient),
  • shùnshǒu 順手: VS 'sẵntay' (handy, at one's convenience),
  • gēshǒu 歌手: VS 'casĩ 'singer' [ <~ Viet. @ 歌星 gēxīng; substituting shǒu 手 SV 'thủ' or xīng 星 for 'sĩ ' 士 shì, that is a common affix in building Vietnamese composite words, such as 'hoạsĩ' 畫家 huàjiā (painter), 'thisĩ' 詩人 shīrén (poet), etc. ]

We can further expand further into different categories such as family relationship, or kin terms, for instance

• fù 父: bố 'dad',
  • fùqīn 父親: VS # 'bốruột' (biological father) [ SV 'phụthân'. cf. qīnfù 親父 (SV thânphụ) with both Sino-Vietnamese compounds used interchangeably in Vietnamese while associating @ M 親 qīn < MC chjin < OC *shjən with 'ruột' (blood-related) ],
  • qīndiè 親爹: VS 'charuột' (biological father),
  • diè 爹: VS 'tía' (daddy) [ also, VS 'cha' is a doublet of 'tía' that is evolved from 'ba' 爸 bā: Shanxi dialect /tá/ ],
  • bā 爸: VS 'ba' (father) [ Shaanxi dialect: /tá/, a doublet of '爹 diè (SV 'đa'): VS 'tía' and 'cha' (daddy) ],
  or
  
• mǔ 母: VS 'mẹ' (mother) [ VS 'mệ', 'mợ', 'mạ', 'mái', 'cái'... ],
• mā 媽: VS 'má' (mother),
• mǔqīn 母親: VS # 'mẹruột' (biological mother) [ SV mẫuthân | cf. M 親母 qīnmǔ (SV thânmẫu). Note that the Sino-Vietnamese forms for 'thânmẫu' or 'mẫuthân' for 'mother' and 'thânphụ' or 'phụthân' #父親 for 'father' are also in common usage, yet, a bit more, not only using the Sinitic-Vietnamese ones to address parents.],
• niáng 娘: 'nạ' (mommy) [ archaic and dialectal usages ],

and other compounds such as VS 'bốmẹ' 父母 fùmǔ, VS 'chamẹ' 爹媽 dièmā, VS 'bamá' 爸媽 bāmā (parents), etc.

We can extend the discussion to other items such as anh 兄 xiōng (older brother), con 子 zǐ (child), chị 姊 zǐ, chế 姐 jiě (older sister), em 妹 mēi (younger sister), and many additional genetically affiliated forms. Taken together, these words are interconnected within categorically grouped lexical sets.

Forrest’s concept of "related groups of words" can be expanded beyond monosyllabic correspondences to include polysyllabic formations, as illustrated above. This framework can also be applied to derivatives that arise through processes of corollary, association, and analogy (as reflected in the Case study worksheet.) Derived words from the same root often appear quite different from their original sound base, to the point that their shared ancestry is obscured. Without a dissyllabicity approach to substantiate the evidence, these sound-changed variants are rarely recognized as belonging to the same etymological family. By situating them within polysyllabic groupings, however, their kinship becomes clearer, just as with the monosyllabic core-rooted words, such as

• 'tập' vs. 習 xí (practice) and its derivatives 'tậpdượt' #演習 yănxí (drill), 'họchỏi' 學習 xuéxí (learning), 'thóiquen' 習慣 xíguàn (habit), 'tậtxấu' #陋習 lòuxí (bad habit), etc. (習)

Similarly,


• dòu 逗: VS 'đùa' [ Also, variant doublets: ''chọc', trêu', 'tếu' (funny, make fun of). cf. SV 'đậu' ~ M 逗 dòu < dow < OC *dos, *do:s. For 'tếu', by associating 逗 dòu with 笑 xiào (SV tiếu) ],
• dòuxiào 逗笑: VS 'trêughẹo' (make fun of) [ variants 'chọcghẹo', 'đùacợt', 'chọccười' (joke), 'thọclét', 'cùlét' (tickle) (Hai. /ka1lɛt7/) ],
• dòuwán 逗玩: VS 'đùagiỡn' (play) [ variants 'chơigiỡn', 'giỡnchơi' , 'đùabỡn' (VS # 'bôngđùa'), 'đùadai' (play a trick on),
• zhēndòu 真逗: VS 'tếulâm' [ being associated with '笑林 xiàolín (SV tiếulâm)', non-extant word in Chinese, via localization as in "這個 人 真逗! Zhègè rén zhēndòu!: 'Cái anhnày tếulâm quá!' (This person is so funny!) ],

or


• diăn 點 /tjen2/: 'tiếng' (hour), 'châm' (ignite), 'chấm' (dip), 'tí' (a bit), 'điểm' (point), 'đếm' (count), 'đốm '(dot), 'chọn', etc.,


• zhòngdiăn 重點: VS 'điểmchính' (SV 'trọngđiểm') (main point),
• diănmíng 點名: VS 'đọctên' (SV 'điểmdanh') (roll calling),
• diănxīn 點心: VS 'lótlòng' (SV 'điểmtâm') ("dimsum", snack, breakfast),
• kuàidiăn 快點: VS 'maulên' (hurry up), 'mauđi' (Be quick!),
• màndiăn 慢點: VS 'chậmtí' (slow down),
• diándiăn 點點: VS 'títi' (a little bit, sparingly) [ variant doublets: 'tíxíu', 'chútxíu', 'lèotèo' ], etc.

(Note: Elaboration on etymologies of the words above have been cited throughout the previous chapters. )

The key point here is that the semantics of each disyllabic item help reveal the etymology of its constituent morphemes, since each two-syllable word aligns with a broader set of related concepts within the same lexical category. 

All of the items cited in this survey conform closely to Chinese phonological contours and display the same distinctive linguistic attributes, even when they shift semantically or syntactically from one category to another. To be precise, most of the etyma under investigation are indeed loanwords from Chinese. Yet they have long been accepted as indispensable and integral parts of the Vietnamese lexicon, particularly in the case of grammatical prepositions, conjunctions, and adverbials. These elements either derive directly from Chinese or evolved in parallel with Chinese function words (虛辭), for example: 於是 yúshì → VS vìthế ("hence"), 由於 yóuyú → VS bởivì ("because").

As noted earlier, the polysyllabic approach provides historical linguists with a powerful tool for uncovering further possibilities. From these findings, rules can be formulated that, much like early observations on Vietnamese and Chinese grammar, establish a baseline for deeper exploration. Such rules can serve as a springboard for advancing from one discovery to the next, extending into other lexical domains and fixed expressions that carry strong cultural resonance, particularly idiomatic etyma. This is precisely what underscores the closeness of Vietnamese and Chinese.

Beyond the cognates already identified, we also find a wealth of idiomatic sayings and fixed expressions shared by both languages, which correspond with striking precision, as illustrated below.

• 早 zăo "chào" (Hello!),
• 成 chéng "xong" (Okay!),
• 行 xíng "Vâng" (Fine!),
• 牛 níu "ngầu" (macho),
• 個啥 gèshà "cáigì" (what),
• 賴我 lài wǒ "tại tôi" (my bad),
• 罪過 zuìguò "cólỗi" (made mistake),
• 道歉 dàoqiàn #"xinlỗi" (apology),
• 倒是 dàoshì "đúngthế" (yes, it is!),
• 隨錢 suíqián "đitiền" ('monetary gift'),
• 無聊 wúliáo "vôduyên" (silly),
• 聊天 liáotiān "nóichuyện" (chat),
• 天遣 tiānqiăn "trờikhiến" (karma),
• 忙活 mánhuó "bậnviệc" (busy),
• 扣帽子 kòumàozi "chụpmũ" (brand label on somebody),
• 受不了 shòubúliăo "chịukhôngnổi" ('cannot hold it'),
• 受得了 shòudéliăo "chịuđượcnổi" ('can take it'),
• 說中了 shuōzhòngle "nóiđúngrồi" (It's correct!),
• 沒關係 méiguānxi "đâucóchi" ('it's nothing'),
• 忍不住 rěnbúzhù "nhịnkhôngđược" ('cannot stand'),
• 聊天聊地 liáotiānliáodì "nóichuyệntrờiđất" (chat),
• 什麽東西 shénmedōngxī "đồthứgìđâu!" ('what a jerk!),
• 葉落歸根 yèluòguīgēn "lárụngrụngvềcội" (literally: 'the dying leave falls back to the tree root', metaphorically: 'sentimental attachment to one's root'),
• 飲水思源 yínshuǐsīyuán "uốngnướcnhớnguồn" ('be graceful for what one got'),
• 衣架飯囊 yījiàfànnáng "giááotúicơm" (good for nothing bum),
• 傾國傾城 qīngguóqīngchéng "nghiêngthànhđỗnước" ('The beauty that would overthrow a kingdom!'),
• 含笑九泉 hánxiàojǐuquán "ngậmcườichínsuối" ('rest peacefully in the Heaven'),
• 含血噴人 hánxiěfènrén "ngậmmáuphunngười" ('to wrongly accuse'),
• 後會有期 hòuhuìyǒuqí "hẹnngàygặplại" ('so long'),
• 木已成舟 mùyǐchéngzhōu "vánđãđóngthuyền" (the die is cast'),
• 破鏡重圓 pòjìngchóngyuán "gươngvỡlạilành" ('unbroken one's heart'),
• 井蝸之見 jǐngwòzhījiàn "ếchngồiđáygiếng" ('have a brain of a chicken'),
• 螳臂擋車 tángbìdăngchē "châuchấuđáxe" ('it's a suicidal fight'),
• 長氣短嘆 chángqìduăntàn "thanvắnthởdài" ('be depressed'),
• 結草銜環 jiécăoxiánhuán "kếtcỏngậmvành" ('be grateful even unto one's death'),
• 青天白日 qīngtiānbáirì "banngàybanmặt" ('in the broad daylight'),
• 三更半夜 sāngēngbànyè "banđêmbanhôm" ('in the depth of the night'),
• 十年樹木,百年樹人 shí nián shù mù, băinián shù rén. "Mười năm trồng cây, trăm năm trồng người." ('It takes ten years to nurture a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a class of people.'), etc.

Our proposed polysyllabicity, hence disyllabicity, approach implicates that, on the one hand, isolated words are considered as displaced lexical orphans, similar to the case of Mon-Khmer words that float about in the Vietnamese vocabulary, such as,

	Viet.	Khmer	unknown

	thelè 	tlec 	? 
	đùm   	đum 	? 
	lu 	loạlu 	? 
	dong 	đong 	? 
	dàn  	đal 	? 

Given that both Vietnamese and Chinese contain a substantial number of Yue elements — many of which still surface in the theorized Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer, Austronesian, Austro-Thai, and Tai-Kadai strata, all ultimately linked to the broader Taic linguistic family — it follows that these elements collectively shaped southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese and Fukienese within the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. From an anthropological perspective, Vietnamese should likewise be considered part of this continuum. (言)

With the aid of our new polysyllabic, or more specifically, disyllabic approach, we can identify many Chinese etyma in Vietnamese with far greater confidence in their plausibility. By examining Vietnamese phrases and fixed expressions such as those illustrated above, it becomes clear that numerous Chinese-Vietnamese correspondences emerge from the very same etymon. These correspondences often evolve into one-to-many relationships, extending well beyond the traditional one-to-one framework that has long constrained historical linguists.

The older paradigm has imposed a kind of mental block: interchange correspondences have typically been credited only to the so‑called Pre-Sino-Vietnamese (pre-SV or Tiền-HánViệt) lexical stratum, recognized as cognate with Proto- and Old Chinese roots, and to the Sino-Vietnamese (SV or HánViệt) layer aligned with Middle Chinese (MC). Yet this view overlooks additional Sinitic-Vietnamese variants that can be uncovered through a disyllabic methodology. For example, 湯匙 tāngchí → VS thìacanh ("spoon") versus 鎖匙 suǒchí → VS chìakhoá ("key") illustrate how a single morpheme (匙 chí > VS 'sĩ') can branch into multiple phonosemantic realizations in Vietnamese.

Phonologically and semantically, as said, a careful examination of these interchanges shows that their phonetic contours were systematically reshaped to align with Chinese counterparts, while their meanings may have shifted in accordance with established patterns of sound change and syntactical order. This process holds true regardless of the original form, underscoring the value of the disyllabic approach in revealing hidden layers of cognacy, for example,

• M 除 chú (SV trừ) ~ Pre-SV 'chừa' ~ VS 'chia' (division),
• M 嘲 cháo (SV trào) ~ Pre-SV 'chèo' ~ VS 'trêu' (laugh at),
• M 朝 cháo (SV trào) ~ Pre-SV 'triệu' ~ VS 'chầu' (attend in the imerial court),
• M 遲 chí (SV trì) ~ Pre-SV 'chầy' ~ VS 'chậm' (slow),
• M 傳 chuán (SV truyền) ~ Pre-SV 'chuyền' ~ VS 'sang' (transit),
• M 利 lì (SV lợi) ~ Pre-SV 'lời' ~ VS 'lãi',
• M 染 răn (SV nhiễm) ~ Pre-SV 'nhuộm' ~ VS 'lây' (contract),
• M 順 shùn (SV thuận) ~ Pre-SV 'suôn' ~ VS 'xuôi' (smoothly),
• M 師 shī (SV sư) ~ Pre-SV 'thầy' ~ VS 'sãi' (monk) ,
• M 時 shí (SV thì) ~ Pre-SV 'thời' ~ VS 'giờ' (time),
• M 似 sì (SV tự) ~ Pre-SV 'tựa' ~ VS 'tợ' (just like),
• M 斬 zhăn (SV trảm) ~ Pre-SV 'chém' ~ VS 'chặt' (chop),

etc.

For sound changes affecting syllabic clusters within a polysyllabic word, the transformation applies to the entire chained sequence of sounds as a unit. This differs fundamentally from the one‑to‑one correspondence model, where each element is treated in isolation at the phonemic or syllabic level, e.g.,

• 傳染 chuánrăn (SV truyềnnhiễm) ~> VS 'lâysang' (infect),
• 順利 shùnlì (SV thuậnlợi) ~> VS 'suônsẻ' (smoothly),
• 巫師 wūshī (VS 'thầymô', also, 'phùthuỷ' (thầymô) ) (shaman)

etc.

On-the-spot modification often preceded, or actively overrode, what had been conveyed in the original form. This could occur through phonemic substitution with localized adaptation, through metathesis (morpho-syllabic re‑arrangement in reverse order), inversion, clipping, contraction into derivative forms, or even playful spoonerism – e.g., " '彩虹 想 總裁' 是 越南語 中 的 一個 急口令 例子. 'Cǎihóng xiǎng zǒngcái' shì Yuènányǔ zhōng de yīgè jíkǒulìng lìzi. 'Mốngchuồng đang muốnchồng' is an example of a spoonerism (nóilái) in Vietnamese." – As we have observed in numerous polysyllabic Sino‑Vietnamese examples throughout this study, disyllabic Sinitic‑Vietnamese items in particular display even greater flexibility. They may be reversed, inverted, contracted, clipped, associated, identified, diversified, differentiated, or shaped by combinations of these processes. Let us now examine a few representative cases.

• 爸爸 bāba <= '爸 bā' => Shaanxi /tá/ => 'tiá' 爹 diè: SV 'ta' => 'cha' (daddy),
• 兄弟 xiōngdì => 'anhtam' => 'anhem' (brothers), 俺兄 ăn xiōng => 'ônganh' => anh em (my older brother) => 'anh' (brother),
• 阿妹 āmèi  => 'emgái' (younger sister) => 'em' ('younger sister' > 'miss') [ For 妹 mēi: SV 'muội' ~> VS 'bậu' ]
• 姑娘 gūniáng (SV cônương) => 'cônàng' (the girl) => 'côem' (young lady) => 'cô' (miss),
• 亮子 Cantonese /liāngzéi/ => 'xinhtrai' (handsome boy) vs. Hainanese /liānggē/ => 'xinhgái' (pretty girl) => 'trai' (boy), 'gái' (girl) [ cf. also, 'trái' (fruit). Note: in Ancient Chinese, among other dozen meanings, 子 zǐ, cf. Fukienese 仔 /kẽ/ 'con' (offsring) : 古代 指 兒、女，現在 專指 兒子。 ]
• 家公 jiāgōng (SV giacông) => 'ôngnhà' (my man) => 'ôngxã' (my husband) => 'chồng' (husband), and the same etymon could give rise to  'ôngcụ' (father-in-law),
• 主公 zhǔgōng (SV chúacông) 'my Lord' => 'ôngchủ' (master) => 'ông' (mister. mr.) [ cf. VS 'ôngchúa' (lord) ],
• 叔叔 shùshù (SV thúcthúc) 'my uncle' => 'chú' (uncle) => 'cácchú' (Chinamen) => 'chệt' => ("my Chinese uncle"),

etc.

The form or pattern that occurs with the greatest frequency among disyllabic expressions will ultimately prevail. Phonetically, much like pre-Han loanwords (假借; see Bernard Karlgren, Loan Characters from Pre-Han Texts II, 1964), many morphemic changes within syllabic strings are no longer governed strictly by the principle of regular sound change. This is especially true for secondary final syllables, which are normally treated under the rules of monosyllabic correspondence in the scholarly reconstruction of the Sino-Vietnamese phonological system.

Regarding irregular sound changes, Haudricourt observed that "at first sight it may seem dangerous to abandon the principle of regular phonetic change, even in specified cases, but one is forced to admit that the blind application of the principle of regular correspondence leads to the proliferation of reconstructed phonemes and hence to the proliferation of purely accidental coincidences." (Haudricourt 1966: 328–29). A close examination of Mon-Khmer wordlists reveals numerous such cases, for example, Mon-Khmer chas → Vietnamese già and cha; Mon-Khmer cho → Vietnamese chaumày.

The recognition of multiple derivatives from disyllabic forms represents a decisive challenge to the long-entrenched belief that Vietnamese is inherently monosyllabic. Vietnamese polysyllabic words, most of which originated in Chinese, were themselves once mischaracterized as monosyllabic. This view is even more problematic when compared with Khmer polysyllabic forms, such as chromuh (proposed for Vietnamese lỗmũi 'nostrils') or tamboi (for muối 'salt', cf. Chinese 鹽巴 yánbā, 'table salt'). The persistence of the "monosyllabic Vietnamese" fallacy has acted as a regressive force, hindering progress in the historical study of Vietnamese etymology.

By contrast, the disyllabic approach has positively identified a vast body of Chinese-derived etyma, marking a turning point in the field. Beyond acknowledging the crucial role of Chinese cultural influence in shaping the Sinitic-Vietnamese lexicon, this approach has also revealed a new layer of fossilized disyllabic forms, stabilized expressions in which two syllables consistently occur together. Such forms demonstrate that the Vietnamese vocabulary stock should be regarded as independent of debates over genetic affiliation.

No Mon-Khmer cognates in Vietnamese exhibit the same range of multifunctionality as the word elements described above. Yet advocates of the Sino-Tibetan hypothesis still confront the long-standing issue of basic cognates of undeniable Mon-Khmer origin. While the Mon-Khmer stratum in Vietnamese must be acknowledged for historical reasons, particularly the resemblance of certain basic words, such as the numerals one through five, which align closely with Khmer, this does not in itself validate the Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer theory of Vietnamese origins. In fact, many lexical correspondences in Mon-Khmer are more closely aligned with Mường than with modern Vietnamese.

It is important to note that contemporary Vietnamese and Mường are no longer identical, having diverged from their common Viet-Mường base centuries ago. This split coincided with the admixture of early Han Chinese settlers and local populations, which gave rise to the Kinh people. The Han colonization beginning in 111 B.C. and the subsequent centuries of Sinicization profoundly altered the demographic and cultural composition of the region. Historically, the Kinh even referred to Mon-Khmer speakers with pejorative terms such as Mọi ("barbarian"), ngườimọi, tụimọi, Mán, or Mường Mán—paralleling the Chinese use of 蠻 Man to label southern minorities such as the Maonan (冒南), Nanman (南蠻), Meng (猛), Shui (水), Yao (瑤), Miao (苗), and Dong (侗).

The presence of Mon-Khmer substratum features in Vietnamese does not, however, negate the many confirmed connections between Vietnamese and Chinese. Numerous etyma are demonstrably cognate with both Chinese and Mon-Khmer, as well, which reflects layered historical interactions.

At the same time, caution is warranted when evaluating Mon-Khmer–Vietnamese correspondences. As Forrest (1958) warned, "too close a likeness is even more suspicious than too distant a one."  For instance, a loanword from Mường, long separated from the Viet-Mường subfamily, may have entered a Mon-Khmer language, spread across its subdialects, and then re-entered Vietnamese under a new guise. Such a process would inevitably produce look-alike cognates in Vietnamese and Mon-Khmer that appear to share a common root, thereby reinforcing the Austroasiatic hypothesis. This dynamic is evident in several of the basic words sampled below.

• 衁 huāng = 'máu' (blood) [ M 衁 huāng, nǜ < MC hwaŋ < OC *hmaːŋ  | PNH: QĐ fong1 | cđ MC 宕合三平陽微 | Pt 武方 | Shuowen: 血也。从血亡聲。 | Kangxi:  《左傳·僖十五年》士 刲 羊，亦 無衁 也。 《韓愈詩》衁池 波風 肉陵 屯。 | Guangyun: 衁 荒 hu光 曉 唐合 唐 平聲 一等 合口 唐 宕 下平十一唐 xwɑŋ xuɑŋ xuɑŋ xuɑŋ hwɑŋ hʷɑŋ hwaŋ huang1 huang xuang 血也 || Wiktonary: Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *hmaːŋ): phonetic 亡 (OC *maŋ) + semantic 血 (“blood”). Etymology: Borrowed from Austroasiatic. Compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟhaam ~ *ɟhiim (“blood”), whence Khmer ឈាម (chiəm, “blood”), Mon ဆီ (chim, “blood”), Proto-Bahnaric *bhaːm (“blood”), Proto-Katuic *ʔahaam (“blood”), Proto-Khmuic *maː₁m (“blood”). Chinese has final -ŋ because initial and final m are mutually exclusive (Schuessler, 2007). This word's rare occurrence in a traditional saying indicates that it is not part of the active vocabulary of OC, but a survival from a substrate language.|| Note: Bodman, Nicholas C. 1980. 'Proto-Chinese and Sino-Tibetan,' (in Frans Van Coetsem et al. (eds.) Contributions to Historical Linguistics) (p.120) : 'An interesting hapax legomenon for 'blood' appears in the Dzo Zhuan which has an obvious Austroasiatic origin: Proto-Mnong *mham, Proto-North Bahmaric *maham, 衁 hmam > hmang > ɣuáng.' || chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char/21663: (1.) 血液。 , (2) 蟹黃。|| Guoyu Cidian: 血液。  ]

There are not many Chinese and Vietnamese basic words that are analogous to the case for 衁 /hmam/ for 'máu', but the reverse course appears to be likely such as 'tiết' 血 xiè (SV huyết) as in 'tiếtcanh' 血羹 xiègēng (blood pudding), 'huyếtthanh' 血清 xiěqīng (serum), 'xơitái' 吃生 chīshēng (eat raw meat), 'treo đầu dê bán thịt chó' 掛 羊 頭 賣 狗肉. Guà yáng tóu mài gǒu ròu. ('Hanging goat heads but selling dog's meat.'), etc., which is not the case for those Mon-Khmer Vietnamese cognates for each and every word that counts as a cognate for cultural reasons.

The phonological closeness between Vietnamese and Chinese in several shared etyma within the basic lexical sphere is often interpreted as evidence of Chinese loanwords in Vietnamese. Yet many of these items were originally Yue loanwords into Chinese, as attested in classical sources such as the Éryá 爾雅 glossary and Yang Xiong’s Fāngyán 方言 dictionary. Their resemblance remains clear in examples such as sông 江 jiāng (“river”), chuối 蕉 jiāo (“banana”), dừa 椰 yě (“coconut”), gạo 稻 dào (“rice”), and đường 糖 táng (“sugar”). These words have long since become part of the Chinese lexicon, just as many Old Chinese words have become indispensable in Vietnamese. Such plausibility in Vietnamese-Chinese cognates supports not only the theory of Vietnamese affiliation with Chinese but also broader Sino-Tibetan etymological connections.

Basic vocabulary has traditionally been the starting point for linguists of Southeast Asian languages seeking to establish genetic affinities among supposedly related groups. Yet beyond these basic correspondences, many of which appear in Mon-Khmer wordlists, it is equally important to examine a wider range of extraordinary lexical items, particularly those spoken by ethnic groups inhabiting the western highlands of present-day Vietnam.

This observation suggests that minority groups sharing Mon-Khmer linguistic features, distributed widely across southern China and Southeast Asia, were themselves descendants of the proto-Taic family, with ancestral ties to the Yue who once occupied the entire southern Chinese region before the arrival of proto-Chinese populations. In other words, the ancestors of Austroasiatic Mon-Khmer peoples were affiliated with the ancient Taic stock as well.

As for the composition of the modern Vietnamese nation, while the majority identify as Kinh, others descend from earlier Yue groups such as the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt. According to Nguyễn Ngọc San, around 4,000 years ago large populations of Mon-Khmer speakers migrated into the northern regions of present-day Vietnam, where they resettled, replaced, and intermingled with Taic-Kadai natives. Linguistically, he proposed that the languages spoken during the era of the Hùng kings constituted a proto-Viet-Mường stage. He further theorized that after the split of Viet-Mường, under the heavy influence of Ancient Chinese following the Han conquest, the direct ancestral form of Vietnamese as a distinct language only began to emerge about 1,000 years ago (Nguyễn Ngọc San, pp. 12–13).

To summarize historically: the "ancient Annamese", the early ancestors of the Kinh, were already a mixed population. This process of admixture accelerated during the Han occupation beginning in 111 B.C. and continued throughout subsequent centuries. The colonization of northern Vietnam brought waves of Chinese immigrants who integrated into an already diverse population of Taic-Kadai speakers and Yue emigrants from southern China. These included the indigenous peoples of the former Nam Việt kingdom ruled by Triệu Đà, whose territory encompassed what is now northeastern Vietnam as well as Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces of China (see Lacouperie 1887/1963). (H)

After nearly a millennium as a Chinese prefecture, extending beyond the Tang dynasty and into the era of the NamHan kingdom (南漢帝國), which expanded from present-day Guangdong and Guangxi into the northeastern regions of modern Vietnam, the formation of Vietnam as a nation represented a continuation of the ancient Annamese identity. This identity had been profoundly shaped, both anthropologically and linguistically, by the legacy of successive Chinese dynasties during their long domination. (A). 

The process of cultural and linguistic transformation continued long after Annam achieved independence in 939 A.D., several years before the collapse of the Nan Han kingdom.

Linguistically, James Campbell, in Vietnamese Dialects, captures the issue succinctly:

“I originally included Vietnamese in this study/website because of the fact its phonological makeup is very similar to Chinese and, indeed, its tonal system matches the Chinese one. Originally I wrote at this site: ‘Vietnamese is neither a Chinese language nor related to Chinese (It is an Austroasiatic > Mon-Khmer language more closely related to Khmer/Cambodian). Besides having a very similar phonological system, and due to the heavy Chinese influence on the language, it also has a tone system that matches the Chinese one.’ However, after reading and conducting a bit more research, it appears that Vietnamese’ affiliation with Việt-Mường, Mon-Khmer, and Austroasiatic may in fact be a faulty case.”

He further observes:

“[Vietnamese] may not be considered a Sinitic language or one of the Chinese dialects, but the Kinh have a lot in common with the Chinese culture, and the language leaves little to doubt. … Vietnamese shares many traits in common with Chinese: 60–70% Sinitic vocabulary, another 20% of vocabulary is substrata of proto-Sinitic vocabulary, much of the grammar and grammatical markers share similarities with Chinese, along with classifiers. One would find it very difficult to draw similar parallels between Chinese and other Mon-Khmer languages. It seems that after considering all of this, what is left that is Mon-Khmer is actually very little, and probably acquired over time through contact with bordering nations. For example, the numbers are of distinct Mon-Khmer origin; however, in many compound words Vietnamese instead uses Chinese roots (as is common in the other Sino-Xenic languages, Japanese and Korean).”

As emphasized throughout this chapter, the purpose here is not to argue for a strict genetic affinity between Vietnamese and Chinese, but rather to highlight their extensive etymological commonalities and unique shared features, peculiarities unmatched elsewhere in the Sino-Tibetan family. What distinguishes Vietnamese from Mon-Khmer is precisely this distinctiveness: the structural and lexical features that align it more closely with the Sinitic sphere. (V)

Based on the comparative analysis of the basic wordlists presented above, many items should be regarded as loanwords exchanged with neighboring Mon-Khmer languages. Yet the overwhelming proportion of cognates with Chinese, together with the shared grammatical and semantic peculiarities, suggests that Vietnamese is best understood as belonging within the Sino-Tibetan family, or at least as a sub-branch alongside southern Sinitic varieties such as Cantonese and Fukienese.

This question of classification, and the broader Sino-Tibetan connections it implies, will be explored in greater detail in the following chapter.

x X x

Conclusion

Taken together, these findings challenge the entrenched view of Vietnamese as a "monosyllabic Austroasiatic" language. Instead, they underscore its layered history: Yue substrata, Taic affiliations, and extensive Chinese influence converged to shape the modern language. Vietnamese should therefore be understood not as a Mon-Khmer derivative, but as a language deeply embedded in the Sinitic sphere. Its distinctive features – phonological, lexical, and cultural – set it apart from other Austroasiatic tongues and call for a reassessment of its place within the broader Sino-Tibetan context.

ENDNOTES

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(K)^ See Bernhard Kargren's Word Families in Chinese in "The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities". Stockholm (Vol. 5. 1933)

"It is not allowable to identify Chinese 目 Arch. mịôg ¹ ) 'eye' with Tibetan mig 'eye' so long as we have not first established the word families to which mịôk belongs. Akin to mịôk is undoubtedly the word 眸 Arch. mi̯ôg 'pupil of the eye': and it is just likely that it is this mi̯ôg which coresponds directly to the Tibetan mig.' "(p. 9)

(習)^ (1) tật, (2) lắp, (3) lặp, (4) lề, (5) vỗ, (6) thói, (7) tật, (8) trấc, (9) thụt, (10) sụt, (11) nếp, (12) nết, (13) xí: 習 xí (SV tập, 'do repeatedly, practice, exercise, drill, flapping wings. Also: habit, be used to, custom, behavior, good habit, good behavior'). [ M 習 xí < MC zip < OC *ljub || Example: 演習 yănxí: VS 'tậpdượt' (drill), 性習 xìngxí: VS 'tínhnết' (personality), 習習 xíxí: VS 'nếtna' (good character), 習慣 xíguàn: VS 'thóiquen' (habit), 陋習 lòuxí: VS 'tậtxấu' (bad habit) ]

The Vietnamese language has evolved with continuous influx of Chinese loanwords and that still going on as late as the present day. At the same time, dissyllabic words had already progressively formed in parallel with the same development that had occurred previously in the language popularized by the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, disyllabism ought to be also taken into account for the fact that basic words could not possibly be limited to only those monosyllabic Vietnamese words cited in Haudricourt's work.

For disyllabic basic words we have innumerable examples that are cognate to those of Chinese and virtually non-existent in any Mon-Khmer forms (Note that some need to be seen in reverse order to recognize their relatedness): mặtgiời 太陽 tàiyáng (the sun), mặtgiăng 月霸 yuèbà (the moon), vìsao 星宿 xīngxìu (star), banngày 白日 báirì (daytime), bantrưa 白天 báitiān (noontime), nóngbức 炎熱 yánrè (stuffy hot), rétmướt 淒涼 qīliáng (chilly), giábuốt 淒薄 qībó (frigid), giôngtố 颱風 táifēng (taipoon), heomay 寒風 hánfēng (breeze), giómáy 風寒 fēnghán (weather elements), lạnhcóng 寒冷 hánlěng (freezing), mưarào 驟雨 zòuyǔ (showers), sôngngòi 江川 jiāngchuān (river), đòngang 渡船 dùchuán (ferryboat), ốcđảo 塢島 wùdăo (islet), bểcả 大海 dàhăi (ocean), ngoàikhơi 海外 hăiwài (at seas), đánhcá 打魚 dăyú (net fishing), mỏác 胸骨 xiōnggǔ (sternum), chânmày 眉梢 méishāo (eyebrow), màngtang 太陽穴 tàiyángxué (temple), sóngmũi 鼻樑 píliáng (bridge of the nose), bàntay 手板 shǒubăn (plam), bảvai 臂膊 bèibó (shoulder), cánhtay 胳臂 gēbèi (arms), cùichỏ 胳膊肘子 gēbózhǒuzi (elbow), đầugối 膝蓋 xīgài (knee), bànchân 腳板 jiăobăn (foot), đầunậu 首腦 shǒunăo (leading figure), đànbà 婦道 fùdào (woman), traitráng 壯丁 zhuàngdīng (young men), yêuđương 戀愛 liàn'ài (love), âuyếm 親熱 qīnrè (affectionate fonding), đámhỏi 訂婚 dìnghūn (marital engagement), điđám 隨錢 suíqián (give monetary presents), bàxã 媳婦 xífù (wife), ôngxã (ôngnhà) 家公 jiāgōng (husband), thôinôi 周年 zhōunián (first birthday shower), ởvậy 守寡 shǒuguă (widowed), phùthuỷ (thầymô) 巫師 wūshī (shaman), điđái 拉尿 làniào (pee), đáidầm 尿床 niàochuáng (bedwetting), táobón 便秘 biànbì (constipation), tiêuchảy 瀉肚 xièdù (diarhea), đồngruộng 田地 tiándì (farmland), tấmcám 糝糠 sănkāng (rice husky chirps), chănnuôi 種養 zhòngyăng (raise cattle), trồngtrọt 種植 zhòngzhì (planting), vườntuợc 家園 jiāyuán (garden), chợbuá 市舖 shìpǔ (market), lánggiềng 鄰居 língjū (neighbor), đườngxá 街道 jièdào (roads), đườngđi 走道 zǒudào (path), siêngnăng 勤勉 qínmiăn (industrious), ẩutả 苟且 gǒuqiě (careless), làmlụng 勞動 láodòng (laboring), lamlũ 勞碌 láolù (ragged), rữngmỡ 情趣 qíngqù (flirting), dêxồm 淫蟲 yínchóng (lecherous), ănmày 要飯 yàofàn (beggar), đánhcắp 打劫 dăjié (robbery), bắtcóc 綁架 băngjià (kidnap), etc., and not to mention virtually all grammatical functioning compounds such as và 和 hé (and), đốivới 對於 duìyú (for), vìthế 於是 yùshì (therefore), etc..

(言)^ It is noted that that both Cantonese and Fukienese (Amoy) have their own Yue substratum underneath the heavy weight of more than 2,200 years of active Sinicization and Chinese assimilation as of now throughout the Han dominion. Hypothetically, had the ancient Annam continued to be a prefecture of China and not gained her independece from the Middle Kingdom since the 10th century onward, there would be little doubt that the Vietnamese language would have been regarded as just another Chinese dialect for sure. Just imagine, if Canton, or approximately today's Guangdong Province of China, had won for the status of sovereignty like Vietnam in the same period from the Southern Han's ruling period in the early 10th century, then guess what would have become of this nation today? What are about Hainan and Fukien provinces if they were out of China's control just like Taiwan after 1949? People in those places would have spoken their very own 'language' and the 'Chinese' influence would have been just like non-native admixture.

(H)^ As discussed in Chapter Seven Hypothesis Of Chinese Origin Of Vietnamese

(A)^ Cognacy in numbers only will certainly not make languages genetically related. For example, we see that in Thomas' wordlist above numbers from one to ten in other Mon-Khmer languages are cognate only to those limited to the set of 1 to 5 in the Khmer counting system, whence they could have been loanwords from Vietnamese. In fact, those numbers from 6 to 10 exist in some other Mon-Khmer languages other than 'Cambodian' or modern Khmer used in today's Cambodia. If they are cognate at all, could they probably have been borrowed from Vietnamese, that is, from a tonal language to a toneless one, following the wisdom of those who domineer? In this case the argument whether the Vietnamese numbers actually have any connection with Chinese or not is irrelevant.

(V)^ In general, they are those of lexical building blocks with subtle semantic specificity (such as 'ănmày' 要飯 yàofàn 'beggar', 'nhàxí' 廁所 cèsuǒ (toilet), 'đáidầm' 尿床 niàochuáng (bedwetting), or 'táobón' 便閉 biànbì (constipation), etc., similar structures in make-up blocks such as morphology (e.g., prominently CVC structured class), intensity of tonal levels (e.g. 8 tone levels fit to any tone in any Chinese dialects), and even grammatical instrumental markers (e.g., virtually all classifiers, articles, prepositions, particles, etc., in both Vietnamese and Chinese being of the same origin). Mark J. Alves (2001) in his paper entitled "What is so Chinese about Vietnamese?" in Papers from the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistic Society has touched on this subject but not as deeply and elaborately as what I am trying to do here.