thạch sùng

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 石崇, from Chinese 石崇 (Shí Chóng), a character from a folktale who died, turned into a house gecko and always tsked over his loss of fortune (which was likened to the way house geckos cry), and was based on a historical figure of the Jin dynasty.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰajk̟̚˧˨ʔ sʊwŋ͡m˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰat̚˨˩ʔ ʂʊwŋ͡m˦˩] ~ [tʰat̚˨˩ʔ sʊwŋ͡m˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [tʰat̚˨˩˨ ʂʊwŋ͡m˨˩] ~ [tʰat̚˨˩˨ sʊwŋ͡m˨˩]

Noun

(classifier con) thạch sùng

1. (Northern Vietnam, North Central Vietnam) a common house gecko

   Synonyms: thằn lằn, chanh chách, mối rách, móc rách, búa lách, muối tách