thỏ đế
Vietnamese
Etymology
Unknown. Perhaps a jocular pseudo-Sino-Vietnamese coinage, from a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 兔帝 (“rabbit emperor”; SV: thố đế), from the notion of nhát như thỏ (“as cowardly as a rabbit”).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [tʰɔ˧˩ ʔɗe˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [tʰɔ˧˨ ʔɗej˨˩˦]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [tʰɔ˨˩˦ ʔɗej˦˥]
Noun
thỏ đế
- a scaredy-cat; a chicken