chật vật

Vietnamese

Etymology

ch- reduplication of vật (“to wrestle”), with semantic influence from chật (“tight, narrow”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕət̚˧˨ʔ vət̚˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕək̚˨˩ʔ vək̚˨˩ʔ]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [cək̚˨˩˨ vək̚˨˩˨] ~ [cək̚˨˩˨ jək̚˨˩˨]

Adjective

chật vật • (𡒻𢪱)

1. strenuous; arduous; toilsome; laborious; strugglesome (especially of life itself)

Adverb

chất vật • (𡒻𢪱)

1. strenuously; arduously; laboriously