nước

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Middle Vietnamese

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ɗaːk (“water”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɗaak (“water”).

Noun

nước

  1. water
  2. country

Descendants

  • Vietnamese: nước

References

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle Vietnamese nước, from Proto-Vietic *ɗaːk (“water”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɗaak (“water”). Cognates with Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh dialects nác, Muong đác, Khmer ទឹក (tik), Bahnar đak, Eastern Mnong dak, Central Nicobarese râk/dâk and Santali ᱫᱟᱜ (dak’).

Alternative forms

Noun

nước • (渃, 𫭔, 匿)

  1. water
    • 2016 June 15, “Nước bẩn lấy máu mà rửa!”, in Tuổi Trẻ Online‎:
      Vua hỏi: tay bẩn thì lấy nước để rửa, rứa nước bẩn lấy chi mà rửa? Ông quan thị vệ hoảng hốt, không biết trả lời thế nào. Vua liền nhấn giọng: “Nước bẩn thì lấy máu mà rửa!”.
      The emperor (Duy Tân) asked: “If your hands are dirty, you would wash them with water. But if the water (= country) is dirty, what would you wash it with?” The flustered court officials could not answer. The emperor then raised his voice: “If the water / country is dirty, you should wash it with blood!”
  2. liquid; fluid
    nước cam ― orange juice
    nước chanh ― lime juice
    nước dừa ― coconut water
    nước mắt ― tear
    nước mũi ― mucus
    nước đái ― piss
    nước tiểu ― urine
    nước xô-đa ― soda water
    • (Can we date this quote?), Hoài An (lyrics and music), “Dòng sông băng [Icy River]”:
      Nếu có nước mắt, nếu có yêu thương,
      Mênh mông dòng sông thì thầm cùng em.
      If there are tears, if there’s love,
      The vast river will whisper with you.
  3. the liquid part of a broth
    Synonyms: nước dùng, nước lèo
  4. Short for đất nước (“country; polity”).
    nước Mỹ ― the United States
    • 19th century, Bà Huyện Thanh Quan, Qua đèo Ngang [Passing by the Ngang Pass]:
      𢖵渃𤴬𢚸𡥵蟈蟈
      傷茄痗𠰘丐𬷬𬷬
      Nhớ nước, đau lòng con cuốc cuốc,
      Thương nhà, mỏi miệng cái da da.
      Missing its land, a swamphen feels hurt deeply,
      Longing for its home, a francolin's screaming desperately.
See also
Derived terms
See also

Etymology 2

Likely related to bước (“to step”) through an infixed form.

Noun

(classifier cái) nước • (著)

  1. (chiefly in board games) move, step
    nước cờ khôn ngoan ― a brilliant move (in chess)
See also
Derived terms

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia