ngã

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ŋaː˦ˀ˥]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ŋaː˧˨]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ŋaː˨˩˦]

• Audio (Saigon):

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

ngã • (我)

1. (Northern Vietnam, of an animate being) to fall on the ground while standing on it in a tripping, toppling or collapsing motion

   Synonyms: té, bổ

   thanh ngã ― the tone as in the word ngã

   • 1912, Thọ An (editor), “Được cả đơn liền kép”, in Tiếu lâm An Nam, volume II:

     Anh kia nghe thấy thế, vội vàng chui ra, chạy về. Chẳng may sân nhà có lắm rêu, trượt, ngã đánh « huỵch » một cái bằng giời giáng.

     The man heard her words, hastily crawled out [of his hiding] to run home. Unfortunately, as the mossy yard was too slippery, he fell with a "thud" as if he just got dropped from heaven.

2. (Southern Vietnam, of a generally inanimate object) to collapse onto the ground and remains there for a period of time

   Synonyms: đổ, sụp

   Coi chừng cây nó ngã!

   Watch out for the falling tree!

   Ê, cây móc đồ ngã mất tiêu rồi kìa.

   Hey, your hanger stand has collapsed (and it's still on the ground).

• vấp; rơi

ngã

1. (linguistics) short for thanh ngã

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *d₁ngah (“crossroads”).

ngã

1. (almost always in compounds with an integer greater than 2) an intersection

   ngã ba ― a three-way intersection; a fork

   ngã tư ― a crossroads

   ngã tư Bảy Hiền ― the Bảy Hiền crossroads

   ngã năm Chuồng Chó ― the "Dog Cage" five-way intersection

   ngã sáu Cộng Hoà ― the Cộng Hoà six-way intersection

• The number attached is the number of exits, not the number of streets crossed. Therefore a crossroads is called ngã tư because it has four exits.
• Only ngã tư is correct, not *ngã bốn.
• Not to be confused with ngả (“way”).

• (an intersection): ngã đường, giao lộ