xanh lè

Vietnamese

Etymology

From xanh (“grue”) +‎ lè; the second element here is probably the same as in chua lè (“very sour”), cay lè (“very spicy”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sajŋ̟˧˧ lɛ˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [sɛɲ˧˧ lɛ˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [san˧˧ lɛ˨˩]

Adjective

xanh lè

1. very green in a bad way

   Coordinate terms: đen thui, đỏ lòm, trắng toát, vàng khè, xám xịt