Where does “chợ trời” come from?

chợ trời (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese trời, from Proto-Vietic b-ləːj, from Proto-Mon-Khmer briiʔ — sky; rain; forest.

chợ trời (Vietnamese): a flea market; swap meet

Definitions

  1. a flea market; swap meet

Ancestry of “chợ trời”, step by step

chợ trời traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese trời

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrờithe sky; weather; a generic deification of the...
2Proto-Vieticb-ləːjsky
3Proto-Mon-Khmerbriiʔsky; rain; forest

via Vietnamese chó

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesechóa dog; a bitch
2Proto-Vieticʔa-cɔːʔdog
3Proto-Mon-Khmercɔʔdog
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer briiʔ →Every word from Proto-Vietic b-ləːj →Every word from Vietnamese trời →
chợ trời — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer