pháo hoa

Vietnamese

Etymology

pháo +‎ hoa, calque of Chinese 花炮 (hoa pháo, literally “flowery firecrackers”). Compare Japanese 花火 (hanabi, literally “flowery fire”), Korean 불꽃 (bulkkot, literally “fiery flower”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [faːw˧˦ hwaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [faːw˨˩˦ hwaː˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [faːw˦˥ waː˧˧]

Noun

pháo hoa • (炮花)

1. fireworks

   Synonym: pháo bông

   bắn pháo hoa ― to shoot fireworks