The Integration of Chinese Words Into the Vietnamese

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Author(s) VU, Duc Nghieu

Citation 大阪大学世界言語研究センター論集. 4 P.133-P.147

Issue Date 2010-09-07

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URL http://hdl.handle.net/11094/8366

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Osaka University
 大阪大学世界言語研究センター論集 第４号（2010年）

The Integration of Chinese Words into the

Vietnamese Language
VU Duc Nghieu＊

Keywords：Chinese words, Sino-Vietnamese words, Old Sino-Vietnamese words, Vietnamized Sino-

Vietnamese words, Integration

1. Types of Chinese words in the Vietnamese language

During its centuries-long relationship with the Chinese language, the Vietnamese language has
borrowed a significant number of words from Chinese. Historically, the Chinese words in the
Vietnamese language can be classified into four types:

a. The pronunciation of the words borrowed from the 8th to 9th centuries originates in the Chinese
phonetic system of the Tang dynasty（618-907 C.E.）which was taught in Giao Chau at that time.
These words are called Sino-Vietnamese words.

b. Words borrowed before the 8th to 9th centuries are pronounced（in reading）in the Vietnamese
way which, in turn, originates in the Chinese pronunciation dating from and prior to the mid-
Tang dynasty. These are usually referred to as Old Sino-Vietnamese words.

c. Although there are Sino-Vietnamese words whose pronunciation originates in the Chinese
pronunciation from the mid-Tang dynasty and thereafter, their pronunciation has not changed
in the usual way, but rather in accordance with the rules of spoken Vietnamese（Nguyen Tai Can
2002: 426）. These are usually called “Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words”（having been twice
“Vietnamized”）. Although “Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese word” is not a proper term, I will use
it until a better one is coined.

d. Chinese words which have come into Vietnamese through some South China dialect are
pronounced with a Central and South Vietnam accent.

So, based on these types of words, we can label the words in（a.）as Sino-Vietnamese words, and

＊ Associate Professor, Vietnam National University

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 VU：The Integration of Chinese Words Into the Vietnamese Language

the other words in（b.）

（c.）
, , and（d.）as non Sino-Vietnamese Chinese words.

2. Phonetic integration
2.1. Sino-Vietnamese words
2.1.1. Changes and integration of the initials
According to Nguyen Tai Can’s work Nguon goc va qua trinh hinh thanh cach doc Han Viet（The
origin and formation of Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation）, the system of initials of the type of Chinese
（Nguyen Tai Can 2000: 146）.
taught in Giao Chau during the 8th to 9th centuries consists of 41 initials.
These initials have changed and been integrated into the phonetic system of Vietnamese as follows
（Nguyen Tai Can 2000: 174-219）
:

01）The initials bang 帮 /p/, tịnh 并 /b/, and some such initials such as bàng 滂 /p‘/, phi 非 /f/, phu 敷
/f/, phụng 奉 /v/, and vân 雲（/Oiw/ and /γi/）of some words have changed and merged into /b/. For
example, băng 崩, bao 包, bội 倍, bạch 白, bái 沛, and ba 葩;

02）The initials bàng 滂 /p‘/, phi 非 /f/, phu 敷 /f/, phụng 奉 /v/, and some initials such as bang 帮 /p/,
tịnh 并 /b/, thư 書 /ś/, thường 常 /ź/, thấu 透 /t‘/ of some words have changed and merged into /f/. For
example, phê 批, phiến 片, phủ 否, pháp 法, phu 敷, phúc 覆, phù 浮, and phụng 鳳;

03）The initials vân 雲（/γj/）> /Oiw/, /γi/, vi 微 /w/ and some initials such as dương 陽（Oj>）/j/,
ảnh 影 /㷊/ of some words have changed and merged into /v/. For example, viêm 炎, vĩnh 永, vệ 衛, vi
為, văn 文, and vọng 望;

04）The initial minh 明 /m/ and some initials such as bang 帮 /p/, bàng 滂 /p‘/, vi 微 /w/ of some
words have changed and merged into /m/. For example, mang 茫, mạo 冒, mẫu 母, mạc 幕, and mai
埋;

05）The initials tinh 精 /ts/, tùng 從 /dz/, tâm 心 /s/, tà 邪 /z/, thanh 清 /ts‘/ and some such initials
bang 帮 /p/, bàng 滂 /p‘/, tịnh 并 /b/ of some words have changed and merged into /t/. For example,
tư 資, tài 才, tam 三, tà 邪, tiêm 籤, tân 賓, and tiện 便;

06）The initials thanh 清 /ts‘/, thấu 透 /t‘/, thuyền 船/d’ź/, thư 書 /ś/, thường 常/z/ and some such
initials bàng 滂 /p‘/ of some words have changed and merged into /t‘/. For example, thương 滄, thảo
草, thần 神, thi 詩, and thuần 純;

07）The initials trang 莊 /ṭṣ/, triệt 徹 /ṭ‘/, trừng 澄 /ḍ/, tri 知 /ṭ/ have changed and merged into /ƫ/.
For example, trào 潮, trạm 站, trà 茶, trường 長, trừu 抽, trướng 帳, tranh 爭, and tráng 壯;

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08）The initials sơ 初 /ṭṣ‘/, sùng 崇 /ḍẓ/ sinh 生 /ṣ/, triệt 徹 /ṭ‘/ have changed and merged into /ʂ/. For
example, sinh 生, sản 産, sao 抄, sách 冊, sài 豺, sầu 愁, siêu 超, and sắc 敕;

09）The initials đoan 端 /t/, định 定 /d/ have changed and merged into /d/. For example, đa 多, đế 帝,
đẳng 等, đầu 頭, đại 大, and đề 題;

10）The initial nê 泥 /n/ and some initials such as nghi 疑 /ŋ/, nhật 日 /ń/ of some words have changed
and merged into /n/. For example, nam 南, não 惱, nạp 納, and nông 農;

11）The initial lai 来 /l/ has changed into /l/. For example, lai 來, lão 老, lạc 樂, lâm 林, and lợi 利;

12）The initials dương 陽（Oj >）/j/, minh 明 /m/ have changed and merged into /z/. For example, do
由, dĩ 已, dũng 勇, dân 民, and diện 面;

13）The initial chương 章/t'ś/ has changed into /c/. For example, chương 章, chuyên 專, chỉ 指, chủ 主,
and chúc 祝;

14）The initial xương 昌 /t'ś‘/ and some initials such as thanh 清 /ts‘/, sơ 初 /ṭṣ‘/, khê 溪 /k‘/, triệt 徹
/ṭ‘/, thư 書 /ś/ of some words have changed and merged into /ś/. For example, xung 衝, xâm 侵, xoa
叉, xoang 腔, xuy 苔, and xá 赦;

15）The initial kiến 見 /k/ and some initials such as quần 群 /g/, nghi 疑 /ŋ/, hiểu 曉 /χ/ hạp 匣 /γ/,
chương 章 /t'ś/ of some words have changed and merged into /ďź/. For example, gia 家, giai 佳, giảm
減, giảng 講, and giáp 甲;

16）The initials nhật 日/ń/, nghi 疑 /ŋ/ and some initials such as nê 泥 /n/, ảnh 影 /㷊/ of some words
have changed and merged into /ɲ/. For example, nhi 兒, như 如, nhẫn 忍, nhan 顏, nhạn 鴈, and nhạc
樂;

17）The initials kiến 見 /k/, quần 群 /ɡ/ and some initials such as khê 溪 /k‘/, hạp 匣 /γ/ of some words
have changed and merged into /k/. For example, ca 歌, cơ 基, cảm 感, kỳ 旗, quyền 權, and kỹ 技;

18）The initial khê 溪 /k‘/ and some initials such as kiến 見 /k/, hiểu 曉 /χ/ of some words have
changed and merged into /χ/. For example, khai 開, khiêm 謙, khả 可, and khách 客;

19）The initial nghi 疑 /ŋ/ has changed into /ŋ/. For example, nga 峨, ngôn 言, ngã 我, and ngọc 玉;

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 VU：The Integration of Chinese Words Into the Vietnamese Language

20）The initial ảnh 影 /㷊/ has changed into /㷊/. For example, am 諳, anh 櫻, á 啞, and ái 愛;

21）The initials hiểu 曉 /χ/, hạp 匣 /γ/ and some initials such as kiến 見 /k/, vân 雲 /γi/, tâm 心 /s/, tà
邪 /z/ of some words have changed and merged into /h/. For example, hảo 好, hanh 亨, hải 海, hàng
杭, hài 諧, and hạng 項.

2.1.2. Changes and integration of the rhymes

The middle Chinese rhyme system reconstructed by Nguyen Tai Can（after comparing the
changes in Chiehyunn to the Chinese phonetic system of the 8th to 9th centuries）consists of sixty-one
rhymes.（Note: This reconstruction is a bit different from the research results of Wang Lih, Dong
Dong Hoa, H. Maspero, Ly Rong, T. Mineya, and others.［Nguyen Tai Can 2000: 155］）
. It also changes
in accordance with the Vietnamese pronunciation.

At present, generally, the Sino-Vietnamese rhymes have changed completely and been integrated
into the Vietnamese rhyme system, but they still reflect their origins in the middle Chinese rhymes.
Studies on the historical phonetics of Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese words offer an
understanding of the Sino-Vietnamese rhymes as follows（Nguyen Tai Can 2000: 225-226）:

-i -u -m/-p -n / -t -ŋ/-k ɲ/-c

i / wi + + + +
ie / wie + + + + +
e / we + +
ɛ / wɛ +
m + + +
em + +
e + + +
e ̆/w ̆ e + + + +
a / wa + + + + + + +
ǎ / wǎ + + +
u + + + +
wo + + +
o + + + +
c + +

2.2. Old Sino-Vietnamese words

The Old Sino-Vietnamese words came into the Vietnamese language very early, before the
formation of the reading（pronunciation）of Sino-Vietnamese words. Their pronunciation has
become a part of the spoken language of the Vietnamese people, and is regarded as an integral part of
the Vietnamese language; it is not seen as a variant of Chinese reading. Moreover, the way Old Sino-
Vietnamese is read does not follow the rules of Chinese. It has come into the orbit of the Vietnamese
language and has been passed on to the present; Old Sino-Vietnamese words have been accepted as

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root words of the Vietnamese language（Nguyen Tai Can 2000: 46）.

The integration of Old Sino-Vietnamese words into Vietnamese is so deep that the systematic
changes in Chinese phonetics that took place from the Han（206 BCE -220 CE）to the Northern and
Southern dynasties（420-589 CE）to the Tang dynasty do not have any impact. These words have
persistently remained in the Vietnamese language as native words, and many synonymic pairs have
been created which consist of two elements: the Old Sino-Vietnamese words and the Sino-Vietnamese
words. They have remained and operated naturally in Vietnamese. There are many correspondences
to their initials or rhymes. For example:

01）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /b/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the initial /f/ such as: buồng - phòng 房, buông - phóng 放, buồm - phàm 帆, and buồn - phiền
煩;

02）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /d/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the initial /ƫ/ such as: đục - trọc 濁, đuổi - truy 追, đúng - trúng 中, and đỡ - trợ 助;

03）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /m/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the initial /v/ such as: mùa - vụ 務, múa - vũ 舞, mây - vân 雲, and mùi - vị 味;

04）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /k/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the initial /j/ such as: cởi - giải 解, keo – giao 膠, kép – giáp 夾, and căn – gian 間;

05）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /ɛ/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /a/ such as : hè - hạ 夏, xe – xa 車, chè - trà 茶, and đánh - đả 打;

06）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /o/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /a/ such as : nôm/nồm – nam 喃, nộp - nạp 納, and hộp - hạp 匣.;

07）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /ie/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /i/ such as: bia - bi 碑, lìa - ly 離, thìa - thì 蒔, đìa - trì 池;

08）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /ε/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /ie/ such as: hẹp - hiệp 夾, kén - kiển 繭, phen - phiên 番, and sen - liên 蓮;

09）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /ɯǝ/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /ɯ/ such as: chứa - trữ 貯, tựa - tự 序, lừa – lư 驢, and ngừa - ngự 禦;

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10）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /ǝ/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /i/ such as: ngờ - nghi 疑, thơ - thi 詩, dời - di 移, and cờ - kỳ 旗;

11）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /uo/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /u/ such as: chúa - chủ 主, chua - chú 注, múa - vũ 舞, and chuông – chung 鍾;

12）The Old Sino-Vietnamese words with the vowel /ie/ correspond to the Sino-Vietnamese words
with the vowel /i/ such as: tiếc - tích 惜, thiếc – tích 錫, chiếc – chích 隻, and việc - dịch 役.

2.3. Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words

The pronunciation of Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words, which had their origins in Sino-
Vietnamese words, has not changed in the usual way, but in accordance with the rules of spoken
Vietnamese（Nguyen Tai Can 2002: 426）
. Research has revealed the fact that the Sino-Vietnamese
sounds, after being formed, were influenced and changed by the rules of Vietnamese historical
phonetics. For example, the phenomenon of fricativization: c > j; c > s, d > z; k > γ; b > v or changes
of t > d; s > t; s > t‘ explains why modern Vietnamese has many synonymic pairs in which one element
is a Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese word and the other is a Sino-Vietnamese word. It is very clear that
their formation is due to the process by which they changed and integrated into Vietnamese. For
example:

The Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /γ/, originating from the initial /k/, came
from the Sino-Vietnamese voiceless initial kiến 見 /k/ and the Sino-Vietnamese voiced initial quần 群
/ɡ/, and created a series of corresponding pairs such as gần - cận 近, gan – can 肝, gươm -kiếm 劍, ghi
- ký 記, gân – cân 筋, and gượng - cưỡng 強.

Most of the Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /v/, originating from the initial /b/,
came from the Sino-Vietnamese initials bang 帮 /p/, bàng 滂 /p‘/, tịnh 并 /b/. Others came from the
Sino-Vietnamese initials phi 非 /f/, phu 敷 /f/, vân 雲 /Oiw/, and phụng 奉 /v/ and created a series of
corresponding pairs such as vốn - bổn 本, vách – bích 壁, ván - bản 版, vá - bổ 補, vái – bái 拜, and ven
– biên 邊;

The Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial /z/, originating from the initial /d/, came
from the Sino-Vietnamese initials đoan 端 /t/, định 定 /d/, and created a series of corresponding pairs
such as dừng - đình 停, dao - đao 刀, dốc（- lòng）- đốc 篤, and dải – đái 帶;

The Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words with the initial phụng 奉 /v/, originating from the Sino-
Vietnamese initials /hw/, and thấu 透 /t‘/, originating from the Sino-Vietnamese initials /ʃ/, created a

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series of corresponding pairs such as vạch - hoạch 畫, vạ - hoạ 禍, vẽ - hoạ 畫, thửa - sở 所, thầy - sư
師, tha – sá（xá）赦.

The changes of the kernel vowels and the rhymes also bring about diversified correspondences.
For example, in the following pairs, the first element is a Sino-Vietnamese word and the second is a
Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese word: ân – ơn 恩, bảo – báu 寶, đắc - được 得, khố - kho 庫, lệ - lề 例,
miêu – mèo 䤕, nương – nàng 娘, nghi - ngờ 疑, tâm – tim 心, thì - thời 時, and viên - vườn 園.（Dao
Duy Anh 1957, Ly Lạc Nghị, Jim Waters 1998, Nguyen Ngoc San 1993, Nguyen Tai Can 2000）.

2.4. The distinction between the Old Sino-Vietnamese words and the Vietnamized Sino-
Vietnamese words
However, the distinction between the Old Sino-Vietnamese words and the Vietnamized Sino-
Vietnamese words is not actually so simple, and in reality the classification shows that there are cases
in which the issue has treated differently by various researchers. Taking, for example, ĐỊA 地 with
nặng tone and ĐÌA 池 with huyền tone: the Sino-Vietnamese reading pronunciation is TRÌ 池 and
both have the same rhyme, “IA,” belonging to the old pre-Tang rhyme pattern, but ĐỊA 地 is considered
a Sino-Vietnamese word, and ĐÌA 池 is considered a Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese word.
The correspondences and oppositions such as che // già 遮; giống // chủng 種; giấy // chỉ 紙 have
been formed due to the changes from rhyme CHƯƠNG 章 /t's/（c > j）, but whereas GIÀ 遮 is
considered a Sino-Vietnamese word, CHE is considered an Old Sino-Vietnamese word of the same
type as buồng, buồm, mùa, mùi …. But, giống and giấy are considered Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese
words, and chủng 種 and chỉ 紙 are considered to be the Sino-Vietnamese words（Nguyen Tai Can
2000: 46）.
Moreover, sometimes the researchers categorize some words as Old Sino-Vietnamese or
Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese, but their phonetic history runs counter to this classification. For
example, according to Nguyen Tai Can（2000, 2002）:

CẢ（gia – cost）: the initial is Old Sino-Vietnamese but the rhyme is Sino-Vietnamese.
TIM（heart）: the initial is Sino-Vietnamese but the rhyme is Old Sino-Vietnamese.
GAN（liver）: the initial is Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese but the rhyme is Sino-Vietnamese.
CHÌM（to sink）: the initial is Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese but the rhyme is Old Sino-Vietnamese.

As a result, it is not unusual for one Vietnamese word to belong to either one of the categories
mentioned above, depending on the theory of the researcher. Ha Thi Tue Thanh（2008）summarized
and listed 196 Old Sino-Vietnamese words and Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words and these were
acknowledged by Wang Lih, Vuong Loc, Nguyen Ngoc San and Nguyen Tai Can. Of these 196 words,
two or three researchers identify only 132 as Old Sino-Vietnamese words; one or two researchers

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identify 51 words as Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words; and 13 words are considered as Old Sino-
Vietnamese words or Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words depending on the theories of other
researchers. For example, vá, giấy, giêng, giống, rèm, rồng, sen, vỡ, vợ, tưới, thiếc, thùa, thóc.

2.5. Other kinds of Sino-Vietnamese words

In addition to words that are classified in the three categories mentioned above, in Vietnamese,
there are also Sino-Vietnamese words for which the reading pronunciation has the Dang Trong
（Cochinchine of Vietnam）dialect/accent and Chinese words that come to Vietnam from some
South China dialects took the Vietnamese pronunciation and followed that accent. These words are
proof of the changes and the integration of Chinese words in Vietnamese, but they are rarely
mentioned.

2.5.1. The Dang Trong and the Dang Ngoai（Tonkin of Vietnam）dialect variants
In the existing research, the majority of the researchers simply hold that the dialect/accent of
Sino-Vietnamese words for which the reading pronunciation is Dang Trong are local phonetic
variations seemingly due to the cessation of use of a number of Chinese words. In fact the answer to
this question needs more study in terms of language, history, culture, and society. Hundreds of pairs
of the Dang Trong dialect variants and the Dang Ngoai（Tonkin of Vietnam）dialect variants can be
found. For example: tràng –（trường 長）, kiểng （
– cảnh 景）, chánh （
– chính 正）, lãnh （lĩnh
- 領）
, sanh
（sinh 生）
– （tính 性）
, tánh – , thạnh –（thịnh 盛）
, chơn –（chân 真 - chân thật）
, huỳnh –（hoàng 黃）
,
hường –（hồng 紅）, mạng –（mệnh 命）
, ngãi （nghĩa
- 義）
, ngươn （
– nguyên 原） – nhật 日）, quới
, nhựt （
（quý 貴）
– , châu （
– chu 周） （thu 收）,tòng –（tùng 從）.
, thâu –

2.5.2. Chinese words from South China dialects

Beside the issue mentioned above, a series of Chinese words came into Vietnamese from some
South China dialects. Then, the South China dialect accent of those Chinese words were pronounced
in a South Vietnam dialect accent. That is an issue that needs great attention. In the following pairs,
the part in brackets is the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation: bò bía （
– bạc bính 薄餅）, sủi cảo （
– thuỷ
giảo 水餃） （hà giảo 蝦餃）
, há cảo – , hên xui （
– hạnh tai 幸災）, hổ/hẩu lốn –（hoả lư 火爐）
, hủ tiếu –
（quế tiểu 桂小）
, lục tàu xá –（lục đậu trà 綠豆茶）
, mè lấu/ mè láo –（ma lô 麻盧）, mè xửng –（ma
đường 麻糖）, phá lấu –（đả lỗ 打鹵）, tài xỉu （
– đại tiểu 大小）, xá xíu –（xoa thiêu 叉燒）, xập xám –
（thập tam 十三）, xíu mại –（tiểu mại 小邁）, cắc （
– giác 角）, ké –（ký 寄）, lẩu （
– lô 爐）, tiệm （
– điếm
店）, tía （
– gia 爺）, xịn –（tân 新）, xỉu （
– hưu 休）
（nhỏ）
, xíu –（tiểu 小）.
It is very easy for everyone to agree that the above mentioned words are local words from a
Southern dialect of Vietnamese.
The reason for the appearance and existence of the above mentioned ‘Dang Trong variants’ is
primarily due to the impact and influence of the Dang Trong（Southern dialect）pronunciation. The

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Southern dialect of Vietnamese is a mixture of different dialects from different migratory groups in
the central part of Vietnam in the 17th and 18th centuries and North Vietnam in the 19th century, as
well as different groups of Chinese migrants from the South of China, especially during the great
migration of rebels headed by Chen Shangchuan and Yang Yandi against the Qing dynasty in 1679
（Cao Tu Thanh 1999: 467）. The migrants crossed the Eastern Sea, traveled along the Xoai Rap River,
and resided in My Tho with the Khmer people. The Gia Dinh thanh thong chi（The Book on Gia
Dinh）clearly recorded that in daily life the local people in the south of Vietnam usually use Vietnamese
mixed with Chinese or Khmer words（Cao Tu Thanh 1999: 484）. Observing the changes, we can see
that the above mentioned pairs have irregular and unsystematic repetitive features.
It is the difference between the Dang Trong and the Dang Ngoai pronunciations that had an
impact on the pian qie（phien thiet spelling）in Vietnam. This gave rise to the problem of one word
having a different spelling（reading）in the North and in the South（Ha Thi Tue Thanh 2008）. For
example, Dai Nam quac am tu vi1 provides the reading pronunciation CẨN 緊 but this is transcribed
KHẨN 緊 in Han Viet tu dien by Dao Duy Anh（Dao Duy Anh 1957）and Thieu Chuu2.
Similarly, Han Viet tu dien by Dao Duy Anh and the dictionary of the same name by Thieu Chuu
give the pronunciation cảm 橄, cảo 槁, kích 激, quẫn 窘, cước 脚 while Dai Nam quoc am tu vi by
Huinh Tinh Cua gives khảm, khảo, khích, khuẫn, khước. Because of the impact of local pronunciation
or the imitation of some South Chinese dialects, different pronunciations appear, as do different
spellings for one Chinese word. For example, the word with the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation vân
thôn 雲呑 is pronounced hoành thánh, mì thánh in the South, and vằn thắn or mằn thắn in the
North.

2.5.3. The Dang Trong dialect after the 17th century

Recently, the focus of this issue has been on the idea that the Dang Trong pronunciation of Sino-
Vietnamese words or an imitation of the pronunciation of some South China dialects only began in
the early 17th century. This was especially the case when many Chinese moved to Dang Trong in the
south of Vietnam as migrants in 1679 as well as during other Chinese migrations to the South later. It
is possible that after Vietnam became independent at the beginning of the 10th century, the Chinese
migration of the 17th century led to the greatest amount of contact between the Vietnamese and
Chinese, and had the most significant influence on the Vietnamese language, especially that of the
Dang Trong（South）.
Due to the fact that Vietnam was a divided country during the 17th and 18th centuries, the
Vietnamese language in the South was separated from that in the North. In terms of society and
language, this situation created linguistic differences in the two variants of Vietnamese as mentioned

1 Huình-Tịnh Paulus Của. 1895. Đại Nam quấc âm tự vị, Saigon: Imprimerie Rey, Curiol & Cie.
2 Thiều Chửu. 2004. Hán Việt từ điển. Nxb Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.

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above. Dai Nam quac am tu vi（1895-1896）by Huinh Tinh Cua clearly recorded（although, of course,
not entirely）the differences in Dang Trong（Southern）Vietnamese.
A survey of the vocabulary given in the dictionary, Dai Nam quac am tu vi, by Ha Thi TueThanh
（2008）reveals the fact that the Chinese elements alone, not including those read in the Sino-
Vietnamese pronunciation（non-Sino-Vietnamese words）, consist of 441 words comprising:

255 words which are Old Sino-Vietnamese or Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese;

186 words in forms such as bá （

– bách 百）
; bửu –（bảo 寶）, phước –（phúc 福）, võ （
– vũ 武）, huỳnh –
（hoàng 黃）
（Ha
. Thi Tue Thanh calls these “variants of Sino-Vietnamese words.”）

23 elements（words）which imitate in some way the pronunciation of some southern Chinese dialect
such as Chaozhou, Hakka, or Guangdong.（Beside the phenomena mentioned above, a number of
Sino-Vietnamese words are pronounced incorrectly when compared to the original. These could also
be considered changes or integration. For example, tiếp thu ← tiếp thụ 接受, cầu an ← cẩu an 苟安, sát
nhập ← sáp nhập 插入, ảo huyễn 幻 / hoạn 患.）

3. Linguistic capacity and integration

3.1. Word formation elements without indigenous Vietnamese synonyms
The Old Sino-Vietnamese words, Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words and more or less 25% of
a number of Sino-Vietnamese words or word formation elements have a wide range of function and
combinability as native Vietnamese words（Nguyen Tai Can 2002: 430）. As they are borrowed, these
words have no indigenous Vietnamese synonyms. That is why they have the operational role just as
native Vietnamese words do. This is the borrowing of words for naming: thánh 聖, tiên 仙, tuyết 雪,
trúc 竹, mai 梅, khí 氣, chất 質 ... buồng 房, buồm 帆, mây , đũa , bia 碑, mùa 務, lìa 離, đìa 池,
xe 車, múa 舞... gần 近, ơn 恩, báu 寶, vẽ 畫, vốn 本, vách 壁, vái 拜, dao 刀, sen 蓮, and rèm 簾.
Such words have really been integrated into the Vietnamese language and are so localized that
they are not at all strange to the Vietnamese people in any way, and they are even used to explain
themselves in the teaching of the Sino-Vietnamese script, chu nho, in Vietnam. This is because
Vietnamese learners have become so used to the pronunciation of the words except for their spelling.
For example, from long ago up to the present, a Vietnamese teacher teaching chu nho to the Vietnamese
students can explain as follows:

Character 聖 thánh（= saint）means thánh

Character 賢 hiền（= virtuous）means hiền
Character 仙 tiên（= angel）means tiên
Character 佛 phật（= buddha）means phật.

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3.2. Word formation elements with indigenous Vietnamese synonyms

75% of Sino-Vietnamese words or word formation constituents are bounded. They are limited to
the function of naming, as well as their ability to be combined（Nguyen Tai Can 2002: 429）
, usually
because Vietnamese indigenous elements have competed with them. They and Vietnamese indigenous
elements also have a complementary distribution in terms of operation, combinability, and semantic
or stylistic features. For example, ngư 魚 - cá, thảo 草 - cỏ, mộc 木 - cây, chi 枝 - cành, diệp 葉 - lá, thủy
水 - nước, giang 江 - sông, hỏa 火 - lửa, xa 車 - xe, tiếu 笑 - cười, and đắc 得 - được.
The Vietnamese language users can easily use such combinations as cá bơi, cá đóp mồi, nuôi cá,
đánh cá, kho cá, rán cá, but they cannot replace cá（fish）with ngư, the Sino-Vietnamese synonym 魚,
in the above mentioned combinations. On the other hand, they cannot replace ngư in combinations
such as ngư cụ, ngư trường, ngư dân, or ngư nghiệp with cá.
This is why even though Vietnamese already has such elements as: hát, vắng, lửa, tre, máu, trốc,
nước, it still uses borrowed terms such as ca 歌, tĩnh 靜, hỏa 火, trúc 竹, huyết 血, thủ 首, and thủy 水.
Of course, there are great differences between hát, vắng, lửa, tre, máu, trốc, and nước and ca, tĩnh, hỏa,
trúc, huyết, thủ, and thủy. Vietnamese speakers usually say: cứu hỏa, cháo huyết, viện huyết học, huyết
thanh, truyền máu, gội đầu … but not *cứu lửa, *cháo máu, *viện máu học, *máu thanh, *truyền
huyết, and *gội thủ.
In addition, the concept of the word tre（bamboo）does not include trúc 竹, a kind of bamboo.
The two words, tre and trúc, denote two different concepts and they become two free-standing words
that are not interchangeable in Vietnamese.
However, no matter what we claim, the frequency of use of Sino-Vietnamese words is very high
in the daily lives of the Vietnamese people, especially in documents written in scientific style, and
political commentaries.3 For example, Ho Minh Nghia’s study of the frequency of using Sino-
Vietnamese words in a number of documents published by the Central Committee of the Vietnamese
Communist Party（08 Resolutions and Directives issued by the Second Session of the Central Standing
Party Committee from 1951 to 1960 and 08 Resolutions and Directives issued by the Ninth Session of
the Central Party Committee from 2001 to 2006）provides the data that follows.4 In these documents,
870 words are borrowed from Chinese or are formed using Sino-Vietnamese constituents.

3 For example, the survey of the opening paragraph of Tuyên ngôn độc lập, the declaration of independence, by
Ho Chi Minh is cited below and the italicized words are Sino-Vietnamese words: “Hỡi đồng bào cả nước. “Tất
cả mọi người đều sinh ra có quyền bình đẳng. Tạo hoá cho họ những quyền không ai có thể xâm phạm được;
trong những quyền ấy, có quyền được sống, quyền tự do và quyền mưu cầu hạnh phúc”. Lời nói bất hủ ấy ở
trong bản Tuyên ngôn độc lập năm 1776 của nước Mỹ. Suy rộng ra câu ấy có ý nghĩa là: tất cả các dân tộc trên
thế giới đều sinh ra bình đẳng, dân tộc nào cũng có quyền sống, quyền sung sướng và quyền tự do. Bản Tuyên
ngôn nhân quyền và dân quyền của cách mạng Pháp năm 1791 cũng nói: “Người ta sinh ra tự do và bình đẳng
về quyền lợi; và phải luôn luôn được tự do và bình đẳng về quyền lợi.” Đó là những lẽ phải không ai chối cãi
được. Thế mà hơn 80 năm nay, bọn thực dân Pháp lợi dụng lá cờ tự do, bình đẳng, bác ái, đến cướp đất nước
ta, áp bức đồng bào ta. Hành động của chúng trái hẳn với nhân đạo và chính nghĩa…”（The Complete Works
of Ho Chi Minh. Vol.3, pp. 555-557. Ha noi, 1995.）
4 Ho Minh Nghia: BA. Graduation Thesis, USSH, VNU at Hanoi, 2006.

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Table 1
LENGTH OF TOTAL OF
TYPE OF DOCUMENT SINO-VIETNAMESE
RATIO（L / N）
DOCUMENT （TOTAL OF WORD WORDS
FREQUENCY – N） FREQUENCY（L）
Session II
10,479 5,861 55.93 %
document
Session IX
10,592 6,774 63.95 %
document
Total 21,071 12,635 59.96 %

Table 2
TOTAL OF FREQUENCY OF FREQUENCY OF
TYPE OF SINO-VIETNAMESE SINO-ORIGINATING SELF-MADE
DOCUMENT WORDS SINO-VIETNAMESE SINO-VIETNAMESE
FREQUENCY（L） WORDS WORDS
Session II
5,861 4,720（80.5 %） 1,141（19.5 %）
document
Session IX
6,774 5,227（71 %） 1,497（29 %）
document

It is very clear that the index of the frequency of Sino-Vietnamese words in the surveyed
documents is very high.

3.3. Sino-Vietnamese repetitive or compound words

In terms of the ability of Chinese words in general and Sino-Vietnamese words in particular, as
mentioned, to be integrated, we may easily be left with the impression that only monosyllabic words
have a deep integration with high Vietnamization, but this is not the case. To understand this, we
glanced through Tu dien tu lay tieng Viet（The dictionary of Vietnamese reduplicatives. 580 pages,
（Vien Ngon ngu hoc 1995）and found 121 words present in both the Tu dien tu
14.5 cm x 20.5 cm）
lay tieng Viet and the Han Viet tu dien, a Sino-Vietnamese dictionary（Dao Duy Anh 1957）. In fact,
those 121 words are Sino-Vietnamese repetitive or compound words.
This phenomenon is of great importance in terms of the integration of Chinese words: although
they are either Vietnamese words in origin or Vietnamese-rooted reduplicatives, they have been
collected and put into the dictionary of Vietnamese reduplicatives as typical Vietnamese reduplicatives.
For example, bàng hoàng 傍惶, bệ vệ 陛衛, bồi hồi 徘徊, chi ly 支離, do dự 猶豫, đáo để 到底, đạo
mạo 道貌, đê mê 低迷, đinh ninh 丁寧, đột ngột 突兀, đường đường 堂堂, gian nan 艱難, hình hài 形
骸, hô hoán 呼喚, hồ đồ 糊塗, hối hận 悔恨, hỗn hào 混淆, hùng hùng hổ hổ 熊熊虎虎, u u minh minh
幽幽明明.5

5 In 2000, Hoang Minh Ngoc, under our supervision, provided a list of 94 words belonging to this type. Later,

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We have not mentioned the fact that in the Tu dien tu lay tieng Viet（Vien Ngon ngu hoc 1995）
there are series of words which are not recorded in the Han Viet tu dien（Dao Duy Anh 1957）. This
may be because these words were created by the Vietnamese people in combination with such Sino-
Vietnamese elements as: âm u 陰幽, dân dã 民野, đàng hoàng 堂皇, hài hòa 諧和, hồng hào 紅豪,
hung hãn 凶悍, sơ sơ 疏疏, thanh thỏa 清妥, and thư thư 且且. It is all the more interesting when we
realize that beyond the scope of Tu dien tu lay tieng Viet, at present, the Vietnamese language has
thousands of other Sino-Vietnamese words that people without or with knowledge of Sino-Vietnamese
words consider reduplicatives of the Vietnamese language, even if they do not consult relevant
dictionaries. For example, đại để 大抵, hào hiệp 豪俠, hào hoa 豪華, hào hùng 豪雄, hào hứng 豪興,
khí khái 氣慨, khắc khổ 克苦, lao lung 牢籠, lẫm liệt 凜冽, kiệt quệ 竭蹶, nhu nhược 柔弱, phê phán
批判, phù phiếm 浮泛, sung sướng 充暢, tán tụng 讚誦, thanh thản 清坦, thôi thúc 推束, and trì trệ
遲滯.
The above mentioned data are accurate evidence demonstrating the profound integration of
Chinese words in general, as well as Sino-Vietnamese words in particular, into the Vietnamese
language.

3.4. Function and combination of the non-Sino-Vietnamese words

The distribution in terms of linguistic operations, semantic abilities, and stylistic characteristics
appears not only between the Chinese words and the pure Vietnamese words, but among the Chinese
words, or between the Sino-Vietnamese words and non-Sino-Vietnamese words. The pairing of Sino-
Vietnamese words and Old Sino-Vietnamese words or Sino-Vietnamese words and Vietnamized
Sino-Vietnamese words have been accepted and used as pairs of synonyms, but the individual words
in each pair have the property of redistribution in terms of usage, stylistic function, or the intensional
or extensional meanings of their concept. This provides the capacity for more resourceful and subtle
expression in the Vietnamese vocabulary. For example:

Old Sino-Vietnamese word - Sino-Vietnamese word:

we cited these 94 words in our articles as evidence. At present, the redone survey shows that 9 of 94 these
words should be taken off the list and 36 others should be added to the list, making 121 words in total on the
list. The following is the list of these 121 words: bàng hoàng, bào hao, bệ vệ, bồi hồi, bồng bột, câu cú, chi ly, cổ
lỗ, do dự, du dương, dư dật, đao để, đàng hoàng, đạo mạo, đê mê, điềm đạm, đinh ninh, độc đoán, đột ngột,
đường đột, đường đường, gian nan, hài hoà, hàng hoá, hình hài, hô hoán, hồ đồ, hối hận, hỗn hào, hồng hộc（N） ,
hống hách, hùng hổ, hùng hồn, khách khí, khảng khái, la liệt, lam lũ, lãng đãng, lang thang, lẫm lẫm, lâu la, liên
miên, liên thiên, linh tinh, lục tục, lực lượng, lưỡng lự, lưu lạc, lưu luyến, mạo muội, mê man, mê muội, mệnh
lệnh, mỹ mãn, miên man, mi （ê）nh mông, mộng mị, mưu mô, ngang tàng, ngâm nga, nguy nga, nhàn nhã, nhất
nhất, ôn tồn, phân vân, phấn chấn, phiêu diêu, phong phú, phương phi, quy củ, quỷ quyệt, quỵ luỵ, quyến luyến,
song song, sơ suất, tà tà, tán loạn, tế toái, từ từ, tha thiết/thiết tha, tham lam, thành thục, thao thao, thâm thuý,
thân thiết, thê thảm/thảm thê, thi thố, thiệp liệp, thô lỗ, thổ lộ, thống thiết, thung dung, thường thường, tiêu điều,
tiều tuỵ, tin tức, tinh tế, tồi tàn, tranh vanh, trầm ngâm, trầm trệ, trí trá, triền miên, trù trừ, trùng trùng, tung
tích, tư lự, tử tế, tức tốc, u ám, u ẩn, u uất, ung dung, uyển chuyển, vân vân, vân vi, vĩnh viễn, yê（a） n uỷ, đường
đường chính chính, hùng hùng hổ hổ, u u minh minh.

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buồng – phòng 房, buông – phóng 放, bùa – phù 符, xe – xa 車, buồn - phiền 煩, mùa - vụ 務, mùi - vị
味, căn – gian 間, múa – vũ 舞, cởi - giải 解, chiềng – trình 呈, hè - hạ 夏, chém - trảm 斬, ngờ - nghi
疑, and chè – trà 茶.

Sino-Vietnamese word - Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese word:

ân 恩 – ơn, u 威 - oai, biên 邊 - bên, điện 殿 - đền, di 移- dời, khổ 苦 - khó, lượng 量 - lạng, mỗi 每 - mọi,
nguyện 願 - nguyền, tầm 尋 - tìm, tiết 節 - tết, kíp 急 - gấp, kỷ 几 - ghế, bảo 寶 - báu, ấn 印 - in, and
viên 園 - vườn.

In general, the non-Sino-Vietnamese words which are root units have a large range of function
and combination as native Vietnamese words. For example, bánh, chầu, chuyền, cướp, dáng, dao, đai,
bùa, búa, buộc, buồm, buôn, buông, buồng, bưng, bừng, bước, can（-ngăn）, cao（nấu -）
, cân（-đối）,
cậu, chạp（tháng -）
, chè, chém, chén, and chèo.

4. Word formation and integration

The Chinese elements, after integrating into Vietnamese, have been used as ready-made
substances to make a series of new Vietnamese lexical units. In fact there are a number of the following
structure patterns:（C = Chinese, V = Vietnamese, IE = Indo-European, E = element）

CE + CE: cử động 舉動, đặc công 特工, sơ tán 疏散, trú ẩn 駐隱, âm u 陰幽, dân dã 民野, hồng hào
紅豪, hài hòa 諧和
CE + VE: binh 兵 linh, thanh 清 vắng, trưởng 長 lớp, cao 高 tay, hạ 下 màn
VE + CE: súng lục 陸, hát xướng 唱, cưa đại 大, tàu thủy 水, xương cốt 骨, trẻ hóa 化
IEE + CE: bê tông hóa 化, axít hóa 化, ba dơ hóa 化, pin tiểu 小

The number of words which have been constructed in the above mentioned patterns in
Vietnamese is not small, but there have been no complete, in depth studies of them.

5. Semantic aspect and integration

It is very clear that monosemantic words integrate into Vietnamese with all their semantic
structures. For example, thôn 村, xã 社, huyện 縣, and tỉnh 省. However, their number is not great.
For the most part, the Chinese words, especially the Sino-Vietnamese words, are polysemic, but not
all their meanings follow when they integrate into Vietnamese. Moreover, all the borrowed meanings
are subject to the control of the Vietnamese language rules. For example:

a. The word Đao 刀: According to the Han Viet tu dien（Dao Duy Anh. 1957）, this word has two
meanings: 1. a knife; 2. a kind of weapon. Modern Vietnamese has only borrowed the second meaning,

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and not the first.

b. The word Bạch 白: According to the Han Viet tu dien, this word has four meanings: 1. white; 2.
clean; 3. clear; 4. to express. The modern Vietnamese only borrows the first meaning used in such
combinations such as giấy tàu bạch, ngựa bạch, trắng bạch; the second meaning in such combinations
as thanh bạch 清白; the third meaning in minh bạch 明白, and the fourth in tự bạch 自白, and bộc bạch
暴白.

In fact, the derivation or change in the meaning of the Chinese words are important indications
of the integration. For example, in the Chinese language the word long nhãn 龍眼 is used to denote
the longan fruit. When it entered Vietnamese, it was shortened to nhãn 眼. This form is used to
denote the longan tree, while long nhãn means the flesh of longan fruit which is dried and used as a
kind of Eastern medicine.
A further step in the semantic changes to Chinese words when they integrate into Vietnamese
leads to a complete difference between the Chinese meaning and the Vietnamese meaning. For
example:

- To express the concept of ‘productive power,’ the Chinese people use sinh sản lực 生産力, while the
Vietnamese people use sức sản xuất.

- To represent the concept of ‘sexual desire,’ Vietnamese people use the word 生欲 sinh dục, and
Chinese people use the word 性欲 tính dục.

- To represent the concept of ‘giving birth,’ according to Cao Tu Thanh（1999）, the Vietnamese people
use 生産 sinh sản but the Chinese people use 生欲 sinh dục, and the concept represented by the
Vietnamese word 生欲 sinh dục is understood by the Chinese people as 性欲 tính dục（sexuality）.

6. Conclusions
The age-old and deep contact between Chinese and Vietnamese has brought about very profound
and great results. It has provided the capacity for more resourceful and subtle expression in the
Vietnamese vocabulary.
None of the comprehensive changes（which take place in zig-zagging, complicated way）to
Chinese words in Vietnamese fall under the control of the root language, Chinese, in terms of
phonetics, semantics, and grammar. This separates the Chinese-rooted loan words even further from
Chinese and integrates them into the Vietnamese language.

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