Where does “căng thẳng” come from?

căng thẳng (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese thẳng, from Chinese 湯, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan r-la(w)ŋ — steam; hot.

căng thẳng (Vietnamese): strained; stressed; tense

Definitions

  1. strained; stressed; tense

Ancestry of “căng thẳng”, step by step

căng thẳng traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese thẳng

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesethẳngstraight
2Chinese湯—
3Proto-Sino-Tibetanr-la(w)ŋsteam; hot

via Vietnamese căng

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesecăngtense
2Middle Chinese剛—
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan r-la(w)ŋ →