mẫu quốc

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 母國, composed of 母 (“mother”) and 國 (“country”)

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [məw˦ˀ˥ kuək̚˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [məw˧˨ kuək̚˦˧˥]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [məw˨˩˦ wək̚˦˥]

Noun

mẫu quốc

1. (history, ironic) a "motherland", a metropole; a colonist country, especially France (as forced by colonial authorities on colonized populations)

References

• "mẫu quốc" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)