khám bệnh

Vietnamese

Etymology

First attested near the end of the 19^th century. Earlier records show both the forms of khám bệnh and khán bệnh, hence likely an assimilated (-n b > -m b) non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 看病 (“to examine a patient”, SV: khán bệnh).

Nowadays perceived as a compound of khám (“to examine”) +‎ bệnh (“disease”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xaːm˧˦ ʔɓəjŋ̟˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰaːm˦˧˥ ʔɓen˨˩ʔ] ~ [xaːm˦˧˥ ʔɓen˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kʰaːm˦˥ ʔɓəːn˨˩˨] ~ [xaːm˦˥ ʔɓəːn˨˩˨]

Verb

khám bệnh

1. (of a doctor) to medically examine a patient; (of a patient) to (go to) see the doctor