xà bông

Vietnamese

Etymology

From French savon. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *saipǭ (“soap”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [saː˨˩ ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [saː˦˩ ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [saː˨˩ ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]

Noun

xà bông

1. (Southern Vietnam) soap

   Dạ cô, cho con xin chút xà bông.
   Omo hay Tide?
   Dạ hông, xà bông á cô. À, ý con là xà bông tắm !

   I'd like some soap.
   You want Omo or Tide?
   No, please get me some soap. Oh, I meant soap as in "bathing soap"!

2. (Southern Vietnam, colloquial) laundry detergent; washing powder

Usage notes

• In Southern regions, xà bông usually colloquially refers to "laundry detergent" instead of "soap". If you go to a general store asking for a xà bông, they would give you laundry powder. You should be more specific by asking for a xà bông tắm (literally “soap for bathing”) if you want a real soap, and for a xà bông giặt (literally “soap for laundry”) if you want detergent.

Synonyms

• xà phòng
• bột giặt