bà tám
Vietnamese
Etymology
Calque of Cantonese 八婆 (baat3 po4, “meddling woman”, literally “eight elderly women”), from bà (“elderly woman”) + tám (“eight”). See also tám (“to gossip”).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˨˩ taːm˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˦˩ taːm˦˧˥]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˨˩ taːm˦˥]
Noun
bà tám
- a very talkative woman; chatterbox; gossip