âm Cổ Hán Việt
Old Sino-Vietnamese
Vietnamese > Sino-Vietnamese (pre-Tang stratum)
Old Sino-Vietnamese (Cổ Hán Việt) is the older stratum of Chinese loanwords absorbed into Vietnamese during and shortly after the Han Chinese occupation (from 111 BC), well before the Tang-era systematic borrowings that produced the standard Hán-Việt layer. It reflects Late Han to Early Middle Chinese phonology and consists of roughly 400 fully nativized words, generally not recognized as foreign by Vietnamese speakers. Coverage of basic vocabulary is sparse because most everyday words remained Vietic; only specific cultural, material, and animal-related loans entered this layer.
Where it is spoken
Han character readings in Old Sino-Vietnamese
| Character | Meaning | Reading | Form | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 二 | two | nhì | /ɲi˨˩/ | |
| 四 | four | tư | /tɨ˧˧/ | |
| 龍 | dragon | rồng | /ʐawŋ͡m˨˩ < *bləwŋ/ | |
| 馬 | horse | ngựa | /ŋɨə˧ˀ˨ʔ < *ŋraːʔ/ | |
| 貓 | cat | mèo | /mɛw˨˩/ | |
| 頭 | head | đầu | /ɗəw˨˩ < *dô/ | |
| 牙 | tooth | ngà | /ŋaː˨˩/ | |
| 心 | heart | tim | /tim˧˧/ | |
| 血 | blood | tiết | /tiət˧˥/ | |
| 茶 | tea | chè | /cɛ˨˩/ | |
| 白 | white | bạc | /ɓaːk˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | |
| 黃 | yellow | vàng | /vaːŋ˨˩/ | |
| 冷 | cold | lạnh | /laɲ˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | |
| 北 | north | bấc | /ɓək˧˥/ |
Sources
- Alves M. 2009 'Loanwords in Vietnamese'
- Phan J. 2013 'Lacquered Words: The Evolution of Vietnamese under Sinitic Influences'
- Hashimoto M. 1978 '古代漢越語'
- Wikipedia: Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary
Han readings compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Vietnamese > Sino-Vietnamese (pre-Tang stratum)
| Character | Old Sino-Vietnamese | Chữ Nôm Vietnamese | Vietnamese | Southern Vietnamese | Central Vietnamese | Huazhou Yue | Hainanese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 二 | nhì /ɲi˨˩/ | hai /haːj˧˧/ | Nhị /ɲi˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | Nhị /ɲi˨˩˨/ | Nhị /ɲi˧˩/ | nyi6 /ȵi˨˩/ | zi1 /zi˨˧/ |
| 四 | tư /tɨ˧˧/ | bốn /ɓon˧˥/ | Tứ /tɨ˧˥/ | Tứ /tɨ˧˥/ | Tứ /tɨ˨˦/ | slei3 /ɬɛj˧˧/ | ti5 /ti˧˥/ |
| 龍 | rồng /ʐawŋ͡m˨˩ < *bləwŋ/ | rồng /zawŋ͡m˨˩/ | Long /lawŋ͡m˧˧/ | Long /lawŋ͡m˧˧/ | Long /lawŋ͡m˥˥/ | lung4 /luŋʷ˨˩˦/ | 白讀liaŋ2 /liaŋ˧˩/文讀loŋ2 /loŋ˧˩/ |
| 馬 | ngựa /ŋɨə˧ˀ˨ʔ < *ŋraːʔ/ | ngựa /ŋɨə˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | Mã /maː˧ˀ˥/ | Mã /maː˨˩˦/ | Mã /maː˧˩˨/ | maa5 /maː˨˩˦/ | 白讀vɛ3 /vɛ˨˩˧/文讀ma3 /ma˨˩˧/ |
| 貓 | mèo /mɛw˨˩/ | mèo /mɛw˨˩/ | Miêu /miəw˧˧/ | Miêu /miw˧˧/ | Miêu /miəw˥˥/ | meu1 /me̯ɛw˥˨/ | niau5 /niau˧˥/ |
| 頭 | đầu /ɗəw˨˩ < *dô/ | đầu /ɗəw˨˩/ | Đầu /ɗəw˨˩/ | Đầu /ɗəw˨˩/ | Đầu /ɗəw˦˨/ | — | hau2 /hau˧˩/ |
| 牙 | ngà /ŋaː˨˩/ | răng /zaŋ˧˧/ | Nha /ɲaː˧˧/ | Nha /ɲaː˧˧/ | Nha /ɲaː˥˥/ | ngaa4 /ŋaː˨˩˦/ | 白讀ŋɛ2 /ŋɛ˧˩/文讀za2 /za˧˩/ |
| 心 | tim /tim˧˧/ | tim /tim˧˧/ | Tâm /təm˧˧/ | Tâm /təm˧˧/ | Tâm /təm˥˥/ | — | tim1 /tim˨˧/ |
| 血 | tiết /tiət˧˥/ | máu /maːw˧˥/ | Huyết /hwiət˧˥/ | Huyết /wiək˧˥/ | Huyết /hwiək˧˦/ | fit3 /fɪt̚˧˧/ | hue9 /hue˥˥/ |
| 茶 | chè /cɛ˨˩/ | chè /cɛ˨˩/ | Trà /tʂaː˨˩/ | Trà /ʈaː˨˩/ | Trà /ʈaː˦˨/ | caa4 /tsʰaː˨˩˦/ | ɗɛ2 /ɗɛ˧˩/ |
| 白 | bạc /ɓaːk˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | trắng /tʂaŋ˧˥/ | Bạch /ɓac˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | Bạch /ɓat˨˩/ | Bạch /ɓat˧˩/ | bak6 /ɓak̚˨˨/ | 白讀ɓɛ6 /ɓɛ˧˧/文讀ɓɔk7 /ɓɔk̚˥/ |
| 黃 | vàng /vaːŋ˨˩/ | vàng /vaːŋ˨˩/ | Hoàng /hwaːŋ˨˩/ | Hoàng /waːŋ˨˩/ | Hoàng /hwaːŋ˦˨/ | wuong4 /ʋu̯ɔŋʷ˨˩˦/ | 白讀ui2 /ui˧˩/文讀huaŋ2 /huaŋ˧˩/ |
| 冷 | lạnh /laɲ˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | lạnh /laɲ˧ˀ˨ʔ/ | Lãnh /laɲ˧ˀ˥/ | Lãnh /lan˨˩˦/ | Lãnh /lan˧˩˨/ | laang5 /laːŋ˨˩˦/ | 白讀lɛ3 /lɛ˨˩˧/文讀leŋ3 /leŋ˨˩˧/ |
| 北 | bấc /ɓək˧˥/ | — | Bắc /ɓak˧˥/ | Bắc /ɓak˧˥/ | Bắc /ɓak˧˦/ | bak1 /ɓɐk̚˥/ | ɓak7 /ɓak̚˥/ |
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