gấu trúc

Vietnamese

Etymology

gấu (“bear”) +‎ trúc (“a kind of bamboo”, from Chinese 竹 (zhú, “bamboo”)).

Sometimes gấu mèo (literally “cat bear”) can be seen used as a synonym, but this is mostly seen in translation of Chinese sources that use 貓熊／猫熊 (māoxióng). In Vietnamese, gấu mèo usually refers to the raccoon.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˧˦ t͡ɕʊwk͡p̚˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˨˩˦ ʈʊwk͡p̚˦˧˥]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˦˥ ʈʊwk͡p̚˦˥]

Noun

(classifier con) gấu trúc

1. a giant panda
2. a red panda