thể thao

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• thể-thao

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 體操, from Japanese 体操 (taisō, “gymnastics”), perhaps from the syntactically Japanese phrase 体を操る (karada-o ayatsuru, literally “to manipulate the body”). A syntactically Chinese formation would be *操體 / 操体, where the verb comes first. It is not clear how "gymnastics" became "sport" in Vietnamese.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰe˧˩ tʰaːw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰej˧˨ tʰaːw˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [tʰej˨˩˦ tʰaːw˧˧]

Noun

(classifier môn) thể thao

1. a sport (any athletic activity that uses physical skills)

   thể dục thể thao

   exercise and sports

   quần thể thao

   a pair of sports pants, especially one with stripes on the sides

See also

• thể dục dụng cụ (“gymnastics”)
• vận động