ba ba

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₁paʔ (“turtle”); cognate with Proto-Bahnaric *tpaː (“turtle”) (whence Bahnar tơpa), Proto-Katuic *tpaa (“soft-shelled turtle”), and Mang maː¹ paː². Compare Proto-Austronesian *qaCipa (“soft-shelled turtle”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) ba ba

1. soft-shell turtle