Where does “thông thạo” come from?

thông thạo (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese thảo, from Chinese 草, from Japanese 草, from Middle Chinese 草.

thông thạo (Vietnamese): to be proficient (in); to be an expert (in)

Definitions

  1. to be proficient (in); to be an expert (in)

Ancestry of “thông thạo”, step by step

thông thạo traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese thảo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesethảograsses and herbs; to write, to draft; to be...
2Chinese草—
3Japanese草grass; a weed; a herb
4Middle Chinese草—

via Vietnamese thông

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesethôngpine (tree of the genus Pinus)
2Chinese松—
Every word from Middle Chinese 草 →Every word from Japanese 草 →Every word from Chinese 草 →