đầu têu

Vietnamese

Etymology

đầu (“head”) +‎ têu; the second syllable is probably a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 頭 (SV: đầu), borrowed rather recently from a Sinitic lect. Compare Tōngshān Gan 頭／头 (tɛuA2), Méixiàn Hakka 頭／头 (tʰeu¹¹).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɗəw˨˩ tew˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɗəw˦˩ tew˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɗəw˨˩ tew˧˧]

Noun

(classifier kẻ, tên, đứa) đầu têu

1. (often derogatory) ringleader, boss