tố nữ

See also: tonu and Tõnu

Vietnamese

Etymology

    Sino-Vietnamese word from 素女.

    Tố Nữ is a goddess in Chinese mythology. In Vietnamese, this proper noun took on the meaning "beautiful woman" as a common noun. Similar developments can also be seen with đạo chích (thief), Mạnh Thường quân (charitable person).

    Pronunciation

    • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [to˧˦ nɨ˦ˀ˥]
    • (Huế) IPA(key): [tow˨˩˦ nɨ˧˨]
    • (Saigon) IPA(key): [tow˦˥ nɨ˨˩˦]

    Noun

    tố nữ

    1. (dated, literary) beautiful woman, beautiful girl

    Derived terms