nhạc

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɲaːk̚˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɲaːk̚˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɲaːk̚˨˩˨]
• Homophone: nhạt (Southern Vietnam)

• Audio (Hà Nội):

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• Audio (Saigon):

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Sino-Vietnamese word from 樂 (“music”).

nhạc

1. music (as a hobby or object of enjoyment)

   Near-synonym: âm nhạc (as a concept)

Attested as Northern Middle Vietnamese mlạc in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651), a dictionary based chiefly on the Northern dialects. Related to the second element in lục lạc.

Likely ultimately from Old Chinese 鐸 (OC *lˤak) (B-S).

The initial shift ([ml- > *mɲ- > ɲ-]) indicates that this is originally a Northern form.

(classifier cái) nhạc • (樂)

1. bell worn on the neck of a domestic animal

   nhạc ngựa ― horse bell

• cạnh