kim chỉ nam

Vietnamese

Etymology

kim (“needle”) +‎ chỉ (“to point at”) +‎ nam (“south”), calque of Chinese 指南針／指南针 (chỉ nam châm, “compass”, literally “southward needle”)

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kim˧˧ t͡ɕi˧˩ naːm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kim˧˧ t͡ɕɪj˧˨ naːm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kim˧˧ cɪj˨˩˦ naːm˧˧]

Noun

kim chỉ nam

1. (formal, especially communism) guidance; a beacon

See also

• nam châm