Where does “mắc kẹt” come from?

mắc kẹt (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese mắc — to hang; to hook.

mắc kẹt (Vietnamese): to be caught; to be trapped; to get stuck

Definitions

  1. to be caught; to be trapped; to get stuck

Ancestry of “mắc kẹt”, step by step

mắc kẹt traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese mắc

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesemắcto hang; to hook

via Proto-Indo-European ḱet-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Indo-Europeanḱet-to be angry
Every word from Vietnamese mắc