Where does “tai tiếng” come from?

tai tiếng (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese tiếng, from Middle Chinese 聲 — sound, voice.

tai tiếng (Vietnamese): bad reputation; bad name; infamous

Definitions

  1. bad reputation; bad name; infamous

Ancestry of “tai tiếng”, step by step

tai tiếng traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese tiếng

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetiếngvoice; sound; language
2Middle Chinese聲sound, voice

via Vietnamese tại

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetạiat; in; on; because of; due to; because
2Chinese在—
Every word from Middle Chinese 聲 →Every word from Vietnamese tiếng →
tai tiếng — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer