Where does “trả lời” come from?

trả lời (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese trả, from Chinese 茶, from Proto-Loloish la¹, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-la — leaf; tea; flat object.

trả lời (Vietnamese): to answer; to reply; to respond

Definitions

  1. to answer; to reply; to respond

Ancestry of “trả lời”, step by step

trả lời traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese trả

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrảto return, to give back; to pay
2Chinese茶tea
3Proto-Loloishla¹tea
4Proto-Sino-Tibetans-laleaf; tea; flat object

via Vietnamese lời

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameselờiword; utterances; words; lyrics; a verse
2Middle Chinese利—
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-la →Every word from Proto-Loloish la¹ →Every word from Chinese 茶 →