trâu

See also: trau and trầu

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

(certain coastal Northern dialects, endangered) tâu (dialects with /ʈ/-/t/ merger)
(certain coastal North Central dialects, endangered) tu (dialects with /ʈ/-/t/ merger)
(North Central Vietnam) tru

Etymology

From Middle Vietnamese tlâu, from Proto-Vietic *c-luː. Cognate with Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh dialects tru, Muong tlu.

Compare also Old Mon jlow (“ox, bull, cattle”) (whence Mon ဂၠဴ, Nyah Kur chǝlòw), Mang løː⁶ and Phong-Kniang jlǝːw. According to Ferlus (2013), Khmer ឆ្លូវ (chləw, “Year of the Ox”) was borrowed from a Vietic variety.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕəw˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈəw˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʈəw˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) trâu • (𤛠, 𬌥, 㺏, 𤠋)

(zoology) a water buffalo; Asiatic buffalo (a bovid of the species Bubalus bubalis)
trâu trắng ― an albino water buffalo
(zoology, by extension) any buffalo of the genus Bubalus or the subtribe Bubalina)

Derived terms

con trâu là đầu cơ nghiệp (a buffalo begets a fortune)
đàn gảy tai trâu (strumming for the buffalo's ears)
đầu trâu mặt ngựa (bull-headed horse face; thug)
hoa nhài cắm bãi cứt trâu (beauty and the beast)
làm trâu làm ngựa (to be a workhorse)
trâu bò (Bovidae; buffalo and cows)
trâu buộc ghét trâu ăn (chained buffalo hate the grazer)
trâu già gặm cỏ non (an old buffalo nibbles young grass)
trẻ trâu (rascal; troublemaker)

See also

nghé (“water buffalo calf”)
bò (“Southern Yellow bovine”)

Adjective

trâu

(slang, video games) enduring; tough; hard
Con boss game này trâu quá. ― This game's boss is super tough (to beat).

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