Where does “ngây thơ” come from?

ngây thơ (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese ngày, from Proto-Vietic t-ŋarʔ — to snore.

ngây thơ (Vietnamese): naive; innocent; unsophisticated; inexperienced

Definitions

  1. naive; innocent; unsophisticated; inexperienced

Ancestry of “ngây thơ”, step by step

ngây thơ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese ngày

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesengàyday; date; daytime
2Proto-Vietict-ŋarʔto snore

via Vietnamese thơ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesethơyoung, tender; poetry; a poem
2Middle Chinese詩—

Words derived from “ngây thơ”

Every word from Proto-Vietic t-ŋarʔ →