Where does “người yêu” come from?

người yêu (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese Người, from Proto-Vietic ŋaːj, from Proto-Mon-Khmer (m)ŋaaj — person, human being; human being; person.

người yêu (Vietnamese): non-marital romantic partner

Definitions

  1. non-marital romantic partner

Ancestry of “người yêu”, step by step

người yêu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese Người

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1VietnameseNgườiYou/Thou/Thee, Jesus Christ; You/Thou/Thee, my...
2Proto-Vieticŋaːj
3Proto-Mon-Khmer(m)ŋaajperson, human being; human being; person

via Vietnamese yêu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseyêuto love romantically; to love non-romantically
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer (m)ŋaajEvery word from Proto-Vietic ŋaːjEvery word from Vietnamese Người
người yêu — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer