bí thư

Sino-Vietnamese word from 秘書, Chinese 秘書 / 秘书 (mìshū, “non-communist secretary”). Compare thư kí (“non-communist secretary”). Vietnamese uses an opposite distinction to Chinese's as to whether the secretary in question works for the communist government or not.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓi˧˦ tʰɨ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɪj˨˩˦ tʰɨ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɪj˦˥ tʰɨ˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

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bí thư

1. (government, communism) a secretary

   bí thư tỉnh uỷ/thành uỷ

   the secretary of a provincial committee/committee of a thành phố trực thuộc trung ương of the Communist Party

• • ban bí thư (“secretariat”)
  • tổng bí thư (“general secretary”)