nam châm

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 南針, composed of 南 (“south”) and 針 (“needle”), from Chinese 指南針／指南针 (chỉ nam châm, “compass”, literally “southward needle”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [naːm˧˧ t͡ɕəm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [naːm˧˧ t͡ɕəm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [naːm˧˧ cəm˧˧]

Noun

nam châm

1. a magnet (piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism)

See also

• kim chỉ nam
• la bàn