Where does “tồi tệ” come from?
tồi tệ (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese tối, from Vietnamese tí, from Middle Chinese 子, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsəʔ — child, son, offspring; grandson; relatives; nephew/niece.
tồi tệ (Vietnamese): bad; evil; terrible
Definitions
- bad; evil; terrible
Ancestry of “tồi tệ”, step by step
tồi tệ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vietnamese tối
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | tối | dark; the duration from the late evening to the... |
| 2 | Vietnamese | tí | breast; a little bit; tiny; small |
| 3 | Middle Chinese | 子 | — |
| 4 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | *tsəʔ | child, son, offspring; grandson; relatives; nephew/niece |
via Vietnamese tệ
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | tệ | bad |
| 2 | Vietnamese | nhân dân tệ | renminbi |
| 3 | Chinese | rénmínbì | — |