gấu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "gau"

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˨˩˦]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˦˥]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Vietic *c-guːʔ ~ *c-kuːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟkaw. Cognate with Bahnar chơgơu and Proto-Katuic *hŋkaw.

The "romantic partner" sense is probably derived from gấu bông (“teddy bear”).

Alternative forms

(North Central Vietnam) gụ (no diphthongization)

Noun

(classifier con (“animal”)) gấu • (𤠰, 𲬶, 󱨘)

bear (large mammal of family Ursidae)
Truyện gấu ăn trăng ― Tale of the Bear Who Ate the Moon
(slang) date; romantic partner
Synonyms: bạn trai (“boyfriend”), bạn gái (“girlfriend”), bồ, gà bông

Derived terms

Adjective

gấu

(colloquial) bullylike; fierce

Etymology 2

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “At first I thought this is a calque of ourlet (“hem”) through faulty association with ours (“bear”), but it's attested in Dictionarium Anamitico-Latinum, which is well before the colonial period.”

Noun

gấu • (褠, 𤠰)

(sewing) hem; hemline