tê tê

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tete"

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-seːl (“scale”). Cognate with Arem atʰiəl ("fishscale"). Compare Proto-Katuic *ʔnsial (“fishscale”) (whence Pacoh xeal, nxeal).

For a parallel of animals named after their notable physical feature, compare Latin cervus (“deer”).

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [te˧˧ te˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [tej˧˧ tej˧˧]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [tej˧˧ tej˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) tê tê • (犀犀)

  1. pangolin
    Synonyms: trút, xuyên sơn
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