khôi nguyên

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 魁 (“leader”) and 元 (“first”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xoj˧˧ ŋwiən˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰoj˧˧ ŋwiəŋ˧˧] ~ [xoj˧˧ ŋwiəŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kʰoj˧˧ ŋwiəŋ˧˧] ~ [xoj˧˧ ŋwiəŋ˧˧]

Noun

khôi nguyên

1. (historical) a first place winner in the imperial exam (or Confucian court exam)

Synonyms

• khôi giáp