Where does “bao lì xì” come from?

bao lì xì (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese báo, from Chinese 豹, from Chinese 駁, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *prawk — to be speckled, variegated, spotted.

bao lì xì (Vietnamese): red envelope

Definitions

  1. red envelope

Ancestry of “bao lì xì”, step by step

bao lì xì traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese báo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesebáoa leopard; a spotted panther; a jaguar or a snow...
2Chinese豹—
3Chinese駁—
4Proto-Sino-Tibetan*prawkto be speckled, variegated, spotted

via Vietnamese lì xì

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameselì xìto give money in (usually) red envelopes to children or elders during the Lunar New Year; to give gratuity
2Cantonese利市—
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *prawk →Every word from Chinese 駁 →Every word from Chinese 豹 →