An Analogy Of Vietnamese Etymology

A Synopsis Of Phonological Sound Changes From Chinese To Vietnamese

by dchph

Vietnamese etymology shows how Chinese roots were transformed into a uniquely creative soundscape of words. This article examines the paradigms of sound change that shaped Vietnamese etyma of Chinese origin. It highlights how systematic correspondences coexist with irregular outcomes, producing doublets, contractions, and semantic innovations. Vietnamese etymology emerges as a layered palimpsest: Sino‑Vietnamese borrowings, vernacular Sinitic‑Vietnamese forms, Austroasiatic substrata, and regional contributions. From centuries of Han contact to modern vernacular adaptation, Vietnamese localized Chinese roots into its own phonological and semantic system, illustrating the universal principle of sound change while showcasing unique cultural creativity.

Drawing on comparative phonological evidence, it demonstrates how systematic correspondences coexist with irregular outcomes, producing doublets, contractions, and semantic innovations. The analysis situates Vietnamese within broader Sino‑Tibetan sound change patterns while emphasizing its distinctive phonotactic adaptations.

Vietnamese etymology may be understood as a layered palimpsest:

• Sino‑Vietnamese: scholarly, rule‑governed borrowings from Middle Chinese.
• Sinitic‑Vietnamese: irregular, dialectal, or Yue‑substratal borrowings.
• Mon‑Khmer and Austroasiatic: numerals, kinship terms, and everyday vocabulary.
• Other regional sources: Malay, Thai, and Chamic contributions.

This analogy underscores that Vietnamese etymology cannot be reduced to a single source but must be seen as the convergence of multiple linguistic currents.

Beyond the similarity of countless basic words in Vietnamese and Chinese, the historical development of Vietnamese has been profoundly shaped by Chinese influence. From the first century B.C. – when ancient Vietnam (Annam) was administered as a Chinese prefecture – through centuries of sustained contact, this impact has remained continuous and is still evident today. Chinese cultural influence has likewise left clear traces in nearly every aspect of the Vietnamese language, most visibly in kinship terminology, where familial hierarchy is expressed with forms virtually identical to their Chinese counterparts.

This article therefore presents a synopsis of phonological sound changes from Chinese to Vietnamese. While Sino‑Vietnamese borrowings often follow predictable correspondences rooted in Middle Chinese, vernacular Sinitic‑Vietnamese forms diverge through irregular transmission, performance errors, or semantic reinterpretation. These irregularities reveal how competence, frequency, and analogy interact to produce doublets, contractions, and innovations.

I) Sound change as a universal process

Sound change is the most pervasive force in linguistic history. It operates across all languages, reshaping phonology, semantics, and grammar. Vietnamese offers a particularly vivid case study: over nearly a millennium of contact with Chinese, borrowed roots were adapted into a distinctive phonological and semantic system. No language remains static; every speech community experiences gradual shifts in pronunciation, tone, and meaning.

In Vietnamese, these shifts are especially visible in the adaptation of Chinese roots. Sino‑Vietnamese borrowings often follow predictable phonological correspondences rooted in Middle Chinese, while vernacular Sinitic‑Vietnamese forms diverge through irregular transmission, performance errors, or semantic reinterpretation. Such irregularities demonstrate that sound change is both systematic and creative, producing doublets, contractions, and innovations that enrich the lexicon.

To understand these processes, one must look beyond one‑to‑one glossaries and instead trace the paradigms of frequency, analogy, and child acquisition that drive change. Vietnamese, layered upon nearly a millennium of Han contact, localized Chinese roots into its own phonological and semantic system. The result is a language that illustrates the universal principle of sound change while showcasing its unique cultural creativity.

A. An analogy of Vietnamese etymology

By examining these processes in comparative perspective, we see that Vietnamese not only absorbed Chinese vocabulary but also reshaped it according to local phonotactic patterns and cultural contexts. The result is a layered lexicon in which systematic sound change coexists with creative adaptation – an analogy that illuminates both the mechanics of language and the cultural ingenuity of its speakers.

One way to identify Chinese traits in Vietnamese etymology is through what the author terms the analogical method. This approach adapts the well‑established use of syntactic and lexical analogy in historical linguistics, re‑tooling it to exploit the large body of linguistic forms already standardized, categorized, and tabulated in Vietnamese studies. Western‑trained specialists have long applied such methods, but here the focus is on Sinitic‑Vietnamese vocabulary as patterned products of phonetic interchange. These interchanges mirror the sound‑change paradigms found in Sino‑Vietnamese loanwords, whose induced shifts are already embedded and predominant in the Vietnamese lexicon. 

B. A synopsis of phonological sound changes from Chinese to Vietnamese

In the sections that follow, in our search for plausible etyma, we will analyze how specific sound changes came about and what these changes reveal about the confirmation of Sinitic‑Vietnamese etyma.

Our approach examines both regular and irregular sound correspondences. While the primary focus is on Chinese‑Vietnamese etymologies, the methods are extensible to other language families. For present purposes, we concentrate on the many Chinese elements embedded in contemporary Vietnamese, recognizable as candidate cognates across both substratal and superstratal layers.

Building on this framework, and to explore plausible cognates as presented in earlier sections, we now recap the common sound change patterns identified throughout this survey.

II) Paradigms of sound change in Vietnamese

Sound change in Vietnamese reflects both the systematic correspondences of Sino‑Vietnamese borrowings and the irregularities of vernacular transmission. These paradigms reveal how Chinese roots were localized into Vietnamese phonology and semantics, producing doublets, contractions, and innovations that continue to shape the language today.

A. Regular vs. irregular change

1. Regular change: Predictable correspondences rooted in Middle Chinese (e.g., voiced initials → lower tones, voiceless initials → upper tones).

Regular sound change refers to predictable, rule‑governed correspondences between Middle Chinese and Sino‑Vietnamese readings. These are the "learned" borrowings, transmitted through scholarly channels and preserved with systematic accuracy.

• Tone correspondences:

  • Voiced initials in Middle Chinese → lower tones in Vietnamese.

  • Voiceless initials → upper tones.

  • Example: 中 zhōng (MC voiced initial) → trung (lower tone).

• Finals:

  • Middle Chinese ‑wŋ → Vietnamese ‑ông.

  • Example: 東 dōng → đông.

• Initials:

  • MC k‑ → Vietnamese c‑/k‑.

  • Example: 高 gāo → cao.

These changes are systematic: once you know the rule, you can predict the Vietnamese reflex. That’s why Sino‑Vietnamese is often described as a "phonological mirror" of Middle Chinese.

2. Irregular change

Irregular: Vernacular Sinitic‑Vietnamese forms diverge through analogy, misperception, or substrate interference. Irregular change refers to vernacular borrowings (Sinitic‑Vietnamese) that diverged from the systematic pattern. These forms entered through everyday speech, dialectal contact, or substrate influence, and they often show unexpected reshaping.

• Analogy:

  • A borrowed form reshaped to match native Vietnamese patterns.

  • Example: 孝順 xiàoshùn → hiếuthảo. Instead of preserving thuận, the compound split into hiếu "filial" + thảo "devotion," giving thảo an independent moral nuance.

• Misperception / Performance errors:

  • Everyday speakers misheard or simplified Chinese sounds.

  • Example: 順利 shùnlì → suônsẻ. The vernacular form narrowed to mean "smooth, uneventful," diverging from the broader Sino‑Vietnamese thuậnlợi.

• Substrate interference:

• Austroasiatic phonotactics reshaped Chinese loans.

• Example: 痛 tòng → đau. The Sino‑Vietnamese thống preserves the MC form, but the vernacular đau reflects Austroasiatic simplification (dropping the rounded final).

• Why this matters

• Regular change shows the systematic phonological pipeline from Middle Chinese → Sino‑Vietnamese.

• Irregular change shows how real speakers adapted words in everyday contexts, producing doublets, semantic shifts, and creative innovations.

• Together, they illustrate Sturtevant’s paradox: regular sound change produces irregularity, while analogy produces regularity.

Table 1 - Regular vs. irregular sound change in Vietnamese

Type of Change	Definition	Example (Chinese → Vietnamese )	Notes
Regular	Predictable, rule‑governed correspondences rooted in Middle Chinese. These are scholarly borrowings (Sino‑Vietnamese).	中 zhōng → trung (lower tone)	Voiced initials in MC yield lower tones in Vietnamese.
		東 dōng → đông	MC final ‑wŋ consistently becomes ‑ông.
		高 gāo → cao	MC k‑ initial maps to Vietnamese c‑/k‑.
Irregular	Everyday, vernacular borrowings (Sinitic‑Vietnamese). Diverge through analogy, misperception, or substrate interference.	孝順 xiàoshùn → hiếuthảo	Compound split into hiếu "filial" + thảo "devotion"; thảo gains new nuance.
		順利 shùnlì → suônsẻ	Misperception narrowed meaning to "smooth, uneventful," diverging from thuậnlợi.
		痛 tòng → đau	Austroasiatic substrate simplified the rounded final; thống preserves MC form, đau is vernacular.

Key takeaways

• Regular change = systematic phonological pipeline → predictable reflexes.

• Irregular change = real‑world adaptation → doublets, semantic shifts, creative innovations.

• Together, they they illustrate Sturtevant’s paradox: regular sound change produces irregularity, while analogy produces regularity.

When searching for the plausible etymon of a Vietnamese word, it is helpful to note that, beyond the well‑established correspondences outlined herein, irregular phonological patterns between Chinese and Vietnamese may also occur. Such irregularities can affect any part of the syllable – initial, medial, final, or coda – or even combinations of these. These processes unfolded diachronically, one change at a time, and gradually produced systemic phonetic shifts across the entire inventory of monosyllabic words. In some cases, syllabic endings underwent change without regard to the original lexical form: whole syllables could be syncopated, with all phonemes dropped – an outcome well attested in the transition from Middle Chinese to Early Mandarin.

B. Frequency principle

• High‑frequency words tend to contract or simplify.

• Example: trung (中 zhōng) → trong in everyday speech.

Sound change also operates synchronically within a language, often in ways comparable to the speech habits of a small village community. As discussed in the previous chapter, such internal shifts include alternations like {tr‑ ~ ch‑}, {ch‑ ~ g‑}, {l‑ ~ r‑}, {n‑ ~ l‑}, {‑n ~ ‑ng}, {‑nh ~ ‑ng}, {‑t ~ ‑k}, and many others. These paradigms can be applied to Sinitic‑Vietnamese words hypothesized as Chinese in origin, allowing us to reconstruct possible reciprocal developments during early contact. Two illustrative cases are:

• /krong/* (Proto‑Vietnamese) sông ('river') ~ MC /kong/ ~ 江 jiāng ('river') ~ SV giang [Patterns: {kr‑ ~ s‑}, {kr‑ ~ k‑}, {k‑ ~ j‑}, {j‑ ~ gi‑}, {gi‑ ~ s‑}, {j‑ ~ s‑} || cf. 刊 kán: SV san ‘remove’]
• /kro/* (Proto‑Vietnamese) chó ('dog') ~ MC /kjəw/ ~ 狗 gǒu ('dog') ~ SV cẩu ~ VS cầy [Patterns: {kr‑ ~ ch‑}, {kr‑ ~ k‑}, {k‑ ~ ch‑} || cf. 砍 kǎn: VS chặt ‘chop’]

These examples show how irregular correspondences can still yield plausible etymological connections.

It must be stressed that the patterns of sound change are inexhaustible. The listings provided here focus only on Chinese and Sinitic‑Vietnamese interchanges, especially irregular ones; Sino‑Vietnamese examples are kept to a minimum. In practice, if one can imagine a plausible irregular pattern, it may well correspond to an actual historical development. Many obvious correspondences (e.g., {x‑ ~ h‑}, {zh‑ ~ gi‑}, {j‑ ~ k‑}, {g‑ ~ k‑}, {q‑ ~ nh‑}, {sh‑ ~ nh‑}) are not repeated here, as they are already familiar to specialists.

1. Common regular initial sound change

Below is some other paradigms that apply to the consonantal initials from one language to another in both directions, reciprocally:

(a) MC Initials > SV Initials

• p > t
• b > t
• t > t
• d > t
• s > s
• z > s
• s > s
• ts > ts
• dz > ts
• ts > s

That is to say, rules for those sound change that governed sound changes of Middle Chinese and Sino-Vietnamese, and Sintic Vietnamese for that matter, prior to the 10th century have also affected interchanges of all other Chinese to Vietnamese infiltration from then until now. Additionally, internal rules work on the same models inside one language, not to mention syllables and tones.

(b)  MC Initials > VS initials

• b > m
• b > v
• ch > th
• d > nh
• đ > d
• đ > n
• k > g
• kj > gi
• l > j
• l > n
• l > nh
• l > r
• l > w
• m > b
• n > l
• p > b
• ph > b
• r > nh
• s > t
• sh > th
• t > đ
• tr > ch
• zh > ch
• zh > gi, and so on so forth.

The merger of at least forty‑one Middle Chinese initials into twenty Annamese initials by the 10th century demonstrates that the Annamese system had already developed fully derived tonal categories by that time (Nguyễn Ngọc San, ibid., p. 72). This finding further challenges the traditional tone‑genesis hypothesis attributed to Haudricourt, as discussed earlier.

2. Sound change patterns and illustrative lexicon

(a) Sound changes in neighboring pronouncing positions

• ān 唵 → ăn 'eat'
• bāo 抱 → bồng 'embrace'
• bāo 包 → bọc 'wrap'
• biān 邊 → bên 'side'
• bǐng 餅 → bánh 'cake'
• dà 大 → to 'big'
• diăo 屌 → đéo 'curse'
• dēng 燈 → đèn 'light'
• dé 德 → tốt 'kindness'
• fén 粉 → phở 'noodle'
• fèn 噴 → phun 'sprinkle'
• gān 幹 → cạn 'driedup'
• gé 割 → cắt 'cut'
• gēn 根 → gốc 'root'
• guài 乖 → giỏi 'good'
• hăi 海 → khơi 'ocean'
• hăo 好 → hay 'good'
• hóu 喉 → cổ 'neck'
• hù 戶 → cửa 'door'
• hú 虎 → cọp 'tiger'
• jiāng 將 → sẽ 'will'
• jìn 近 → gần 'nearby'
• jǐn 僅 → gắng 'industrious'
• káng 扛 → khiêng 'carry'
• kū 枯 → khô 'dry'
• kù 哭 → khóc 'weep'
• kuài 膾 → gỏi 'meatsalad'
• lăn 懶 → lười 'lazy'
• liáng 良 → lành 'benign'
• lěng 冷 → lạnh 'cold'
• líng 靈 → thiêng 'sacred'
• líng 伶 → lanh 'witty'
• líng 零 → lẻ 'miscellaneous'
• lǜ 慮 → lo 'worry'
• luò 落 → lạc 'peanut'
• luò 烙 → là 'toiron'
• luó 羅 → lưới 'net'
• lóng 籠 → lồng 'cage'
• nèn 嫩 → non 'immature'
• shí 食 → xơi 'eat'
• shùn 順 → suônxuôi 'smoothly'
• sì 撕 → xé 'tear'
• sòu 嗽 → súc 'rinse'
• tiān 添 → thêm 'add'
• tè 特 → đực 'male'
• tòng 痛 → đau 'pain'
• tóng 銅 → thau 'copper'
• tóng 彤 → đỏ 'red'
• tóu 頭 → đầu 'head'
• tuǐ 腿 → đùi 'thigh'
• tuì 推 → đẩy 'push'
• wèi 熨 → ủi 'iron'
• wěi 萎 → úa 'wither'
• xiá 遐 → xa 'faraway'
• cūn 村 → xóm 'village'
• yán 沿 → ven 'edge'
• zàng 髒 → chôn 'bury'
• zăo 早 → chào 'hello'
• zhăi 窄 → chật 'tight'
• zhōu 粥 → cháo 'porridge'
• zǒu 走 → chạy 'run'

(b) Pattern { ¶ l‑ ~ S‑ }

• lán 藍 → chàm 'indigo'
• láng 郎 → chàng 'man'
• làng 浪 → sóng 'wave'
• lěi 磊 → sõi 'pebble'
• lèng 愣 → sửng 'stunted'
• lì 力 → sức 'strength'
• lián 蓮 → sen 'lotus'
• liàng 亮 → sáng 'bright'
• luó 螺 → sò 'clam'
• luó 羅 → chài 'netting'

Reverse pattern:

• cháng 常 → luôn 'often'
• jià 駕 → lái 'drive'
• jí 級 → lớp 'level'
• jǐu 久 → lâu 'longago'
• jiăn 撿 → lượm 'pick'
• jìng 靜 → lặng 'quiet'
• qián 潛 → lén 'secretly'
• qǔ 取 → lấy 'get'
• qīn 侵 → lấn 'invade'
• shàng 上 → lên 'ascend'
• shě 舌 → lưỡi 'tongue'
• xiáng 翔 → lượn 'glide'
• xiāng 鄉 → làng 'village'
• xīn 心 → lòng 'heart'
• zhuăn 轉 → lăn 'roll'
• 寂寞 jìmò → lẻloi 'lonely'
• 搜索 sōusuǒ → lụcsoát 'search'
• 冷寂 lěngjì → lạnhlẽo 'deserted'

(c) Pattern { ¶ S‑ ~ r‑ }

• cài 菜 → rau 'vegetable'
• chóu 愁 → rầu 'sorrowful'
• chū 出 → ra 'out'
• jiān 煎 → rán 'fry'
• jiān 間 → rảnh 'opening'
• jǐu 酒 → rượu 'wine'
• qián 閒 → rãnh 'freetime'
• shě 蛇 → rắn 'snake'
• suò 縮 → rút 'shrink'
• sēn 森 → rậm 'dense'
• shú 熟 → rục 'ripen'
• shán 擅 → run 'tremble'
• shàn 善 → rành 'skilled'
• shòu 瘦 → ròm 'skinny'
• xǐ 洗 → rửa 'wash'
• xiāng 箱 → rương 'case'
• xū 鬚 → râu 'beard'
• xū 婿 → rể 'son‑in‑law'
• zhèn 震 → rung 'vibrate'
• zhòu 咒 → rủa 'curse'
• zhào 照 → rọi 'shine'
  

(d) Pattern { ¶ S‑ ~ T‑ } (same as d, th, tr, ch)

• cā 擦 → thoa 'scrape'
• chá 茶 → trà 'tea'
• chí 匙 → thìa 'spoon'
• chí 遲 → trễ 'late'
• chí 池 → đìa 'pond'
• chǒu 丑 → trâu 'buffalo'
• chòu 臭 → thúi 'smelly'
• qù 去 → đi 'go'
• qiān 籤 → tăm 'stick'
• qián 前 → trước 'front'
• shì 試 → thử 'try'
• shāo 燒 → đốt 'burn'
• shēng 生 → đẻ 'givebirth'
• shī 師 → thầy 'teacher'
• shí 石 → đá 'stone'
• sī 絲 → tơ 'silk'
• suí 隨 → theo 'follow'
• suì 歲 → tuổi 'age'
• suàn 蒜 → tỏi 'garlic'
• xiān 鮮 → tươi 'fresh'
• zhàn 站 → đứng 'stand'
• zhōu 舟 → tàu 'boat'
• zhú 箸 → đũa 'chopsticks'
• zhuàng 撞 → tông 'collide'
• zú 足 → đủ 'enough'
• zuǒ 左 → trái 'left'
• zhuī 追 → đuổi 'runafter'

Reverse pattern { ¶ T‑ ~ S‑ }:

• diè 爹 → cha 'daddy'
• dòu 逗 → chọc 'tease'
• tă 踏 → chà 'trample'
• tă 塌 → sập 'tumble'
• tào 套 → sáo 'polite'
• tiáo 條 → sợi 'thread'
• tuì 推 → suy 'induce'
• 談話 tánhuà → chuyệntrò 'chat'
• 衰退 shuāituì → suythoái 'degenerated'

(e) Pattern { ¶ l‑ ~ r‑ }

• lián 廉 → rẽ 'cheap'
• liàn 練 → rèn 'drill'
• lián 簾 → rèm 'curtain'
• lí 離 → rời 'leave'
• liè 冽 → rét 'chilly'
• liăo 了 → rồi 'already'
• lóng 龍 → rồng 'dragon'
• luò 落 → rớt 'drop'
• luó 籮 → rỗ 'basket'
• líng 齡 → răng 'tooth'
• lìng 另 → riêng 'exclusively'
• líng 伶 → ranh 'witty'
• lòu 漏 → rỏ 'leak'
• luàn 亂 → rộn 'chaotic'
• lín 林 → rừng 'woods'
• 隆重 lóngzhòng → rìnhrang 'grandly'
• 垃圾 lāji → rác 'garbage'

Reverse pattern:

• răn 染 → lây 'infect'
• rèng 扔 → liệng 'throw'
• róng 溶 → loãng 'solvent'
• róu 糅 → lộn 'mingle'
• rú 女 → lứ 'thou'
• 牙肉 yáròu → (răng)lợi 'gum'
• 炸肉 zhàròu → (chả)lụa 'Vietnamese ham'

(f) Pattern { ¶ p‑ (b‑) ~ t‑ (d‑) }

• bèi 卑 → tệ 'mediocre'
• bēi 俾 → tỳ 'servant'
• běn 本 → thân 'trunk'
• béng 甭 → đừng 'don't'
• biàn 便 → tiện 'convenient'
• biān 偏 → thiên 'incline'
• biăo 婊 → đĩ 'whore'
• bī 比 → tỳ 'compare'
• bì 必 → tất 'inevitable'
• bì 鼻 → tỵ 'nose'
• bì 幣 → tệ 'currency'
• bō 鉢 → tô 'bowl'
• pī 匹 → thất 'singlehanded'
• piāo 嫖 → đéo 'visit prostitutes'
• biànmì 便密 → táobón 'constipation'
• bēnbō 奔波 → tấttả 'toiling'

Reverse pattern { ¶ t‑ (d‑) ~ b‑ (p‑) }:

• dào 道 → bảo 'tell'
• tóu 投 → bầubỏ 'vote, vesting'
• tòu 偷 → bợ 'steal'
• tàng 燙 → bỏng 'scalp'
• tú 涂 → bôi 'smear'
• 浪蕩 làngdàng → longbong 'loiter'
• 肚子 dùzi → baotử 'stomach'

(g) Pattern { ¶ y- ~ b- (p-) }

• yăo 舀 → bới 'scoop up'
• yóu 郵 → bưu 'postal'
• yōu 右 → phải 'right'
• yóu 由 → bởi 'by'
• yóu 柚 → bưởi 'pomelo'
• yóu 游 → bơi 'swim'
• yǐng 影 → bóng 'shadow'

3. Additional examples of chained sound changes

In reality, beyond the common interchanges already noted, countless additional patterns can be identified. In principle, any sound may shift into any other, the outcome of successive changes unfolding over time like a slow chain reaction. These shifts are often set in motion by phonetic drift, then reinforced through local adaptation and, at times, by imperfect or unstandardized imitation. Yet despite this fluidity, in many cases the underlying form remains discernible, recoverable from its surface sound alone.

(a) Sound interchanges:

• bīng 兵 → lính 'soldier'
• bēi 杯 → ly 'glass'
• bài 拜 → lạy 'kowtow'
• chéng 承 → (thặng)nâng 'raise'
• dă 打 → đánh 'strike'
• fēn 分 → phút 'minute'
• fěn 粉 → bột 'flour'
• fēng 風 → giông 'windstorm'
• fèng 奉 → dâng 'submit'
• fù 富 → giàu 'rich'
• kuài 快 → vui 'happy'
• kuài 塊 → cục 'piece'
• kuài 膾 → gỏi 'minced meat salad'
• kuì 饋 → quà 'gift'
• huǒ 火 → lửa 'fire'
• huà 話 → nói 'talk'
• huò 貨 → đồ 'goods'
• huó 活 → việc 'work'
• líng 靈 → thiêng 'sacred'
• mín 民 → dân 'people'
• miăo 秒 → giây 'second'
• rěn 忍 → nhịn 'put up with'
• rù 入 → vô 'enter'
• rǔ 乳 → vú 'breast'
• réng 仍 → vẫn 'still'
• rèng 扔 → quăng 'throw away'
• ràng 讓 → nhường 'yield'
• qīng 輕 → nhẹ 'light'
• shòu 受 → chịu 'endure'
• tā 他 → nó 'he'
• tàng 燙 → nóng 'hot'
• tăng 躺 → nằm 'lying'
• tiăn 舔 → liếm 'lick'
• wò 臥 → ngủ 'sleep'
• wǎ 瓦 → ngói/gạch 'tile'
• wān 灣 → vịnh 'bay'
• wǎn 丸 → hòn 'ball'
• yè 葉 → lá 'leaf'
• zhòng 重 → nặng 'heavy'

(b) Clipping sound changes:

While certain interchanges can be identified through historical sound change rules – most notably the traditional eight‑tone scheme (and not the simplified six‑tone model) – as illustrated by forms such as tất, học, tiếc, and others, there are also cases where sound changes have proceeded beyond immediate recognition. Even so, their etymology remains recoverable by applying the fănqiè 反切 method in Chinese characters, which provides reliable phonetic keys. This system, grounded in the Middle Chinese eight‑tone framework, accounts for the Sino‑Vietnamese correspondences, especially those words ending in the checked tones /‑p/, /‑t/, and /‑k/, in both upper and lower registers.

• bì 必 → tất 'must'
• bí 畢 → tốt 'graduate'
• chī 吃 → ngật 'eat'
• fēng 風 → gió 'wind'
• jí 集 → tập 'collect'
• jì 季 → quý 'season'
• miào 妙 → diệu 'wonderful'
• mín 民 → dân (SV /zən1/) 'people'
• míng 名 → danh 'name'
• pìng 娉 → sính 'betroth'
• wă 瓦 → ngói (VS ngoạ) 'tile'
• wān 灣 → vịnh (SV loan) 'bay'
• wēng 蓊 → lông 'feather'
• xī 溪 → khê 'creek'
• xī 惜 → tiếc (SV tích) 'stint'
• xì 吸 → hút (SV hấp) 'inhale'
• xiè 瀉 → tước (SV tả) 'diarrhea'
• xué 學 → học (SV /hɔwk8/, cf. Cant. /hok8/) 'learn'
• yī 一 → nhất 'one'
• yì 憶 → nhớ (SV ức) 'memory'
• yì 臆 → ngực 'chest'
• yì 藝 → nghệ 'artisan'
• yì 議 → nghĩa 'meaning'
• yì 義 → ngãi 'righteousness'

(c) Analogical sound changes

Yet, on the other hand, for a large number of Sinitic‑Vietnamese words that have shifted in this way, we are left with little more than analogy, attested through actual usage. These include both authentic inherited forms and semantic parallels. For example:

• hù 戶 → cửa 'door' (SV hộ 'household')
• kǒu 口 → cửa 'door' (SV khẩu 'mouth')
• wěn 吻 → hôn 'kiss' [also VS mồm > miệng 'mouth']
• qīn 親 → ruột 'blood‑related' (SV thân 'kinship')
• chī 吃 → ăn 'eat' (VS 唵 ān; SV ngật; cf. 乙 ất)
• shí 食 → xơi 'eat' (SV thực 'food')
• tīng 聽 → nghe 'hear' (Hainanese /k'e1/)
• lóng 聾 → điếc 'deaf' [<~ đãng <~ lãng 'forgetful'; cf. đãngtrí ~ lãngtrí 'absent‑minded']
• shēng 生 → đẻ 'givebirth' (Hainanese /te1/; hence tái 'raw') [cf. 生產 shēngchăn (SV sanhsản), VS sanhđẻ 'birth‑giving']
• shuǐ 水 → nước 'water' (cf. 淂 dé: SV đắc ~ Viet‑Muong đák)
• qián 前 → trước 'front' (Hainanese /tai2/)
• shě 舌 → lưỡi 'tongue'
• huó 活 → việc 'work' (SV hoạt 'living')
• huà 話 → nói 'talk' (SV thoại 'spoken words')
• cí 辭 → lời 'word' (SV từ 'diction')
• jì 季 → mùa 'season' (SV quý)
• dùn 腞 → lợn 'pig'
• àn 案 → bàn 'desk' (SV án 'altar; case')
• àn 按 → bấm 'press'
• xiōng 胸 → hông 'hips' (SV hung 'bosom')
• yì 臆 → ngực 'chest' (SV ức)
• yì 憶 → nhớ 'remember' (SV ức)
• yǒng 泳 → lặn 'dive'
• yóu 游 → bơi 'swim' [also VS lội]
• yóu 柚 → bưởi 'pomelo' [cf. 郵 yóu: SV bưu 'postal']
• bǔrǔ 哺乳 → búvú 'breastfeed'
• fànjú 飯局 → bữacơm 'dinner'
• yàofàn 要飯 → ănmày 'beggar' [cf. Hainanese 飯 /muj2/]
• yóuyú 由於 → bởivì 'because'
• xuéxí 學習 → tậpdượt 'drills' [cf. 演習 yănxí]
• xízăo 洗澡 → tắmrửa 'bathe' (Hainanese /to5jat8/)

(d) Sino-Vietnamese sound loans – Sandhi process of association:

As discussed in earlier chapters, a large number of Sinitic‑Vietnamese words resemble Sino‑Vietnamese forms. These are not merely the result of doublets or borrowings from different sources, but often arise from internal associative processes within each language, producing new lexical items in either the source or the target. Illustrative cases include:

• côngcuộc 'task' ← from côngtác 工作 gōngzuò, through an associative sandhi process involving cục 局 jú.
  
• ông 'mister' ← not only from 翁 wēng (ông), but also 公 gōng (công). [Cf. cồ → trống; 鼓 gǔ → trống].
  
• tiểu 'urinate' ← not directly from 小便 xiăobiàn (tiểutiện), but from 尿 niào (SV niệu). [Initials /n‑/ and /t‑/ are interchangeable]. From tiểu arose đái; 拉尿 làniào gave rise to điđái [/l‑/ and /đ‑/ interchangeable].
  
• trường (as in trườnghọc 'school') ← not from 場 chăng (SV trường), but from 堂 táng (SV đường). An older form is 庠 xiáng (tường).
  
• hiểu 'understand' ← 曉 xiáo (hiểu). In colloquial usage, however, SV 會 huì (hội) carries the sense of hiểu, since 曉 xiáo also means 'daybreak' (sớm) and was identified with 會 huì in compounds such as 體會 tǐhuì (thấuhiểu 'understand').
  
• hiếu, hay, ham, háo 'desire' ← all deviations of 好 hăo (hảo).
  
• tham, thèm, ham, hám ← derived from 貪 tān (tham 'greedy').
  
• hiền 'gentle, good' ← 賢 xián (hiền), but in colloquial use aligns with 善 shàn (SV thiện), as in 善良 shànliáng (hiềnlành, SV thiệnlương).
  
• chiếntrận 'battle' ← from 戰場 zhànchăng (chiếntrường), via associative sandhi with 陣 zhèn (trận).
  
• mai 'tomorrow' ← appears Sino‑Vietnamese in form, but is likely a variant from northern Chinese (Beijing dialect), 明兒 mínr, which produced both mainày and the syncopated mai.

(e) Homonyms, synonyms, doublets, and loanwords:

Many monosyllabic words in Chinese can be read the same yet carry different meanings. Likewise, dialectal pronunciations of a single character often produced variant usages, both before and after their entry into Vietnamese. As a result, it is not surprising that Vietnamese sometimes differentiated the same character into multiple forms, either through association with other words or through internal localization. A few examples illustrate this process:

• 放 fàng 'let go' → phóng, bắn, bỏ, buông, phỗng [M fàng < MC pwoŋ < OC *paŋs; Starostin: 'to put away, neglect, banish'. Cf. colloquial phỗng 'to take away, carry off'].
• 解 jiě 'analyze' → giải, gỡ, giã, cắt, xẻ, xả, rõ, cởi, chảy ['explain', 'untie', 'dilute', 'cut', 'slice', etc.].
• 照 zhào 'shine' → chiếu, chụp, soi, rọi, chói, theo ['shine', 'reflect', 'capture', 'based on'; M zhào < MC tʂɜw < OC *taws].
• 瘦 shòu 'skinny' → gầy, ròm, sỏ.
• 肥 féi 'fat' → phì, mập, phệ, mỡ.
• 大 dà 'large' → đại, to, cả, đủ, sơ.
• 會 huì 'gathering' → hội, họp, hẹn 'rendezvous', hụi 'rotating loan', hiểu, hay 'know'. [All derived from 會 huì, but also linked with 曉 xiăo (SV hiểu) and 知 zhī (SV tri). M huì < MC ɣwʌi < OC guats. Notably, 會 huì encompasses the same semantic range as its Vietnamese reflexes.]

For illustration, consider derivatives of 場 chăng (SV trường) 'field':

• 戰場 zhànchăng → chiếntrường 'battlefield'.
• 試場 shìchăng → trườngthi 'examination campus' (SV thítrường). [But trườnghọc 'school' comes from 學堂 xuétáng, SV họcđường].
• 劇場 jùchăng → sânkhấu 'stage'; 飛場 fēichăng → sânbay 'airport' (SV phitrường). [Here, 機 jī is short for 飛機 fēijī 'airplane'; Vietnamese instead selected 飛 fēi to coin sânbay].
• 戲場 xìchăng → tuồnghát 'performance show'.
• 一場夢 yī chăngmèng → mộtgiấcmộng 'a dream'.
• 一場病 yī chăngbìng → mộttrậnbệnh 'a spell of illness'.
• 戰場 zhànchăng → chiếntrận 'battlefield' (SV chiếntrường). [But 打仗 dăzhàng → đánhtrận 'fight a battle'].
• 一場病 yī chăngbìng → mộtcơnbệnh 'a bout of illness'. [But 一股風 yī gǔfēng → mộtcôngió 'a gust of wind'].
• 一場戲 yī chăngxì → mộttuồnghát 'a performance show' [hence VS vởtuồng].

All of these are variants of trường 場 chăng.

Other cases:

• đợi 'wait' ← not from 等 děng (SV đẳng), but from 待 dài (đãi).
• 接待 jiēdài → tiếpđón 'reception'; 接送 jiēsòng → đưađón 'pick up and see off'. Here đưa corresponds to 送 sòng (SV tống, Hainanese /tang6/, /dang6/), while đón aligns with 接 jiē. Yet đưa 'give' as in đưatiền comes from 交錢 jiāoqián (SV giaotiền), and đón 'welcome' appears in 兜風 dòufēng (đóngió 'go out for air') and 迎春 yíngchūn (đónxuân 'welcome spring').
• 扔 rēng 'throw away' → quăng, with variants vãi, vất, rãi, vung, vứt, ném, liệng, lia. [M rēng < MC ɲiŋ < OC ɲjəŋ].
• 撞 zhuàng 'collide' → tông, đụng, tán.
• 沖 chòng 'rush, splash' → xối, dội, xông, xấn, tông, đụng, and extended to sang 'develop film' [cf. 沖印 chōngyìn 'film development and printing', now fading in the digital era].

(f) Similarities with early and modern Mandarin:

One of the most striking and often overlooked parallels between vernacular and literary Mandarin and Vietnamese lies in their shared colloquial words and fixed expressions. Many specialists of historical Vietnamese have focused narrowly on Proto‑Chinese, Old Chinese, Middle Chinese, or the Sino‑Vietnamese layer, but in doing so they have missed the vibrant stratum of vernacular borrowings and associative adaptations. Beyond well‑known cases such as mainày 明兒 mínr 'tomorrow', sátvách 隔壁 jiébì 'next door', or 行將 xíngjiān 'about to' (rooted in Beijing vernacular 北京話), there are numerous other examples:

• 早晚 zăowăn → sớmhôm 'morning till evening' [also VS sớmmuộn 'sooner or later']
• 聊天 liáotiān → nóichuyện 'chat'
• 談話 tánhuà → chuyệntrò 'chat'
• 標調 biāodiào → bỏdấu 'tone marking'
• 生人 shēngrén → ngườidưng 'stranger'
• 陌生 mòshēng → lạlùng 'estranged'
• 無聊 wúliáo → vôduyên 'nonsense'
• 儉節 jiănjié → keokiệt 'stingy'
• 貪冗 tānrǒng → thamnhũng 'graft' [via association with 冗濫 rǒnglàn / 濫 làn ~ 貪 tān]
• 緣份 yuánfèn → duyênnợ 'destined to marry'
• 隨緣 suíyuán → duyênsố 'destined to meet'
• 隨錢 suíqián → đitiền 'give a monetary gift'
• 媳婦 xífù → bàxã 'wife' (colloquial endearment)
• 離異 líyí → lydị 'divorce'
• 老闆 láobăn → láibuôn 'trader'
• 老公 lăogōng → ôngxã 'husband' (colloquial endearment)
• 主公 zhǔgōng → ôngchủ 'master' [<~ SV chúacông 'lord']
• 禮貌 lǐmào → lễphép 'polite' [/m‑ ~ ph‑/ interchange]
• 市鋪 shìpǔ → chợbúa 'market' [<~ VS phốchợ, SV phốthị]
• 城鋪 chéngpǔ → thànhphố 'city'
• 行將 xíngjiāng → sắpsửa 'be about to'
• 忙活 mánghuó → bậnviệc 'busy'
• 蒙蔽 méngbì → bưngbít 'swindle'
• 叛徒 pàntú → phảnthùng 'traitor' [also đồphản]
• 糧餉 liángxiàng → lươnghướng 'wage'
• 勞動 láodòng → làmlụng 'labor'
• 省錢 shěngqián → tằntiện 'frugal'
• 探聽 tāntīng → thảthính 'inquire, probe'
• 仙草 xiāncăo → xuxa 'grass jelly' [~ VS sươngsáo]
• 夫妻餅 fūqībǐng → bánhxuxuê 'mungbean – coconut glutinous cake'

And the modern borrowings:

• 反動 făndòng → phảnđộng 'reactionary'
• 幹部 gànbù → cánbộ 'cadre'
• 部隊 bùduì → bộđội 'army unit, foot soldier'
• 偽 wěi → nguỵ 'pseudo‑, puppet (government)'
• 制度 zhìdù → chếđộ 'regime; system' [extended to chếđộănuống 'dietary regime']
• 戶口 hùkǒu → hộkhẩu 'household register; account'
• 參觀 cānguān → thamquan 'visit'
• 出口 chūkǒu → xuấkhẩu 'export'
• 質量 zhíliàng → chấtlượng 'quality'
• 奮鬥 fèndòu → phấnđấu 'strive'
• 擔保 dànbăo → đảmbảo 'guarantee'
• 強調 qiángdiào → cườngđiệu 'emphasize'
• 培養 péiyăng → bồidưỡng 'nurture, sustain'
• 水餃 shuǐjiăo → suỷcảo 'dumplings'
• 混沌 húndùn → vằngthánh 'wonton'
• 味精 wèijīng → mìchính 'MSG'
• 應酬 yìngchóu → ănnhậu 'partying, social drinking'
• 屌你 diàoni → đéomẹ (expletive)
• 他媽 tāmā → đụmá (expletive)

not to mention some other minor distinctions in usage of certain words, either due to earlier older or vernacular loans, yet, comprehensible by most speakers of all regions:

Northern Vietnamese dialect vs. Chinese root	Southern Vietnamese dialect vs. Chinese root	Meaning
cút 滾 gǔn	đi 去 qù	get out of here
vuốt 捋 lǚ	rờ 摸 mò	stroke
vồ 捕 pǔ	chụp 捉 zhuō	grasp
hoa 花 huā	bông 葩 bā	flower
ngô 玉米 yùmǐ	bắp 苞 bāo	corn
mê 迷 mí	ưa 愛 ài	feel attracted to
hãi 駭 hài	sợ 懼 jù	scared
rọ 籮 luó	giỏ 籮 luó [ cf. 'răng' (tooth) ~> Southwestern Vietnamese sub-dialect 'giăng' ]	basket
gầy 瘦 shòu (Vietnamese Central sub-dialect 'sỏ') ]	ốm 奀 ēn	skinny
ốm 屙 é (Cant.)	bệnh 病 bìng (V Central sub-dialect 痛 tòng ('đau')	sick
lọ 罍 léi	chai 樽 zūn	bottle
thai 胎 tāi	bầu 胞 bāo	pregnancy
quên 忘 wàng	lẫn 忘 wàng (possibly from 聾 lóng, VS 'lãng')	forget
cầy 狗 gǒu	chó 犬 quán	dog
lợn 腞 dùn	heo 亥 hài	pig
mắng 罵 mà	chửi 咒 zhòu	scold
nôn 涒 tūn	ói 嘔 ǒu	vomit
vua 王 wáng	chúa 主 zhǔ	king
môigiới 媒介 méijiè	giớithiệu 介紹 jièshào	middleman
phà 筏 fá	bắc 泊 bó	ferry
sướngphê 爽快 chuăngkuài	quáđã 過癮 guòyǐn	fully satisfied
ngậy 膩 nì	béo 油 yóu	greasy
béo 胖 pàng (bàn)	mập 肥 féi	fat
chăn 衿 jīn	mền 綿 mián	blanket
phủphê 飽飽 băobao	no 饒 ráo	satiate
cực 極 jí	ghê 極 jí	very
xinh 亮 liàng	đẹp 婕 jié	beautiful
quan 棺 guān	hòm 棺 guān	coffin
họng 喉 hóu	cổ 喉 hóu	throat
xơi 食 shí [ Cant. /shik8/ ]	ăn 唵 ān [ cf. 吃 chī: SV 'ngật, phonetic 乙 yí 'ất' ]	eat
lạc 落 luò	đậu 豆 dòu	earthnut
giỡn 玩 wán	xạo 嘐 xiāo	joke
bổ 剖 pǒu	xẻ 切 qiè	chop
...	...	...

In addition to what has already become integral to modern Vietnamese through daily usage, many common words trace directly to Chinese sources:

• nào 哪 nă 'which'
• đó 那 ná (Huế dialect nớ) 'that'
• rồi, nổi 了 lē, liăo 'already' [e.g. quênđâunổi 忘不了 wàngbùliăo 'unforgettable'; quênrồi 忘了 wàngle 'already forgot']
• …đi …啦 [e.g. 拿啦 nála 'take it' → lấyđi; 拉尿啦 làniào la 'go pee' → điđáiđi]
• sẽ 將 jiāng 'will'
• vẫn 仍 réng 'still'
• đây 這 zhèi 'this'
• đúng 對 duì 'correct' [colloquial form of 中 zhòng 'trúng', as in 中意 zhòngyì → trúngý 'as one wishes']
• gì 啥 shă 'what' [also VS sao 'why']
• vìsao(mà) 為什麼 wèishěme 'how come' [Beijing 為啥 wèishă]
• chúngmình 咱們 záměn 'we'
• mình 我 wǒ (Beijing dialect /mne/) 'I' [also VS qua]
• maulên 快點 kuàidiăn 'quick' [also mauđi; cf. Cant. /faitì/; cf. 愉快 yúkuài → vuivẻ]
• luônluôn 老老 láoláo 'always' [also doublet 牢牢 láolao]
• riêngtư 隱私 yǐnsī 'privacy'
• lánggiềng 鄰居 língjū 'neighbor'
• sátvách 隔壁 gébì 'next door' [Beijing /jièbì/, ji‑ ~ s‑]
• mauchóng 馬上 măshàng 'quickly' [cf. 盡快 jìnkuài]
• bạtmạng 拼命 pìnmìng 'daring'
• cảlũ 大伙 dàhuǒ 'the whole group'
• đạochích 盜賊 dàozéi 'burglar'
• đầunậu 頭腦 tóunăo 'ringleader'
• cạnly 幹杯 gànbèi 'cheers, bottoms up'
• sangrửa 沖印 chōngyìn 'photo development and print'
• tầmbậy 三八 sānbā 'nonsense' [modern colloquialism from '3‑8 International Women’s Day', mocking women; cf. Fukienese tầmbạ, sàbát  –  showing dialectal influence into modern Vietnamese]

Variants of the same base concept often point to different roots. For example, làm 'make, do, cause' appears in multiple Chinese sources:

• 領 lǐng, 令 lǐng, 幹 gàn, 弄 nòng → làm 'make, do'
• 幹啥 gànshă → làmgì 'what are you doing?'
• 幹活 gànhuó → làmviệc 'work'
• 幹家務 gànjiāwù → làmviệcnhà 'do house chores'
• 當官 dàngguān → làmquan 'be an official'
• 當兵 dàngbīng → làmlính 'be a soldier'
• 榜樣 băngyàng → làmgương 'exemplify'
• 弄樣子 nòngyàngzǐ → làmravẻ 'pretend, put on an air'
• 弄錢 nòngqián → làmtiền 'make money'
• 勒索(錢財) lèsuǒ(qiáncái) → làmtiền 'extort'
• 含聲 hánshēng → làmthinh 'keep quiet'
• 耕田 gēngtián → làmđồng 'farm'
• 勞動 láodòng → làmlụng 'labor'
• 弄假成真 nòngjiăchéngzhēn → làmgiảthànhthiệt 'pretence becomes reality'
• 令人肉麻 lǐngrénròumá → làmrợncảngười 'cause a creepy feeling'
• 領我驚雅 lǐng wǒ jīngyá → làmtôikinhngạc 'surprise me'

Conclusion

Vietnamese etymology exemplifies how universal principles of sound change, layered through centuries of Chinese contact and local adaptation, transform borrowed roots into a uniquely creative phonological and semantic system.

This paper demonstrates that the history of Vietnamese vocabulary is best understood through the lens of sound change. Regular Sino‑Vietnamese loans follow predictable phonological correspondences, while irregular Sinitic‑Vietnamese borrowings reveal the effects of imperfect transmission, dialectal variation, and substratal influence. Alongside these, Khmer and Austroasiatic contributions, as well as a substratum of uncertain or indigenous words, complete the picture. By tracing systematic shifts in initials, finals, and tones, and by applying analogical and corollary methods, we see how these layers of sound change interact to form the Vietnamese lexicon we know today. Recognizing this dynamic process helps readers appreciate both the richness and the complexity of Vietnamese lexical history.

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