Where does “chữ Tàu” come from?
chữ Tàu (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese Tàu, from Vietnamese Ba Tàu, from Vietnamese ba, from Proto-Vietic paː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer piʔ.
chữ Tàu (Vietnamese): a Chinese character
Ancestry of “chữ Tàu”, step by step
chữ Tàu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vietnamese Tàu
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | Tàu | Chinese; Chink |
| 2 | Vietnamese | Ba Tàu | Of or pertaining to ethnic Chinese people in... |
| 3 | Vietnamese | ba | father; three; secondborn |
| 4 | Proto-Vietic | paː | three |
| 5 | Proto-Mon-Khmer | piʔ | — |
via Vietnamese chữ
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | chữ | alphabet, writing system, script; letter,... |
| 2 | Proto-Vietic | cuːʔ | grandchild; father's younger brother |
| 3 | Proto-Mon-Khmer | cuuʔ | grandchild |