mã tà

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

  • ma tà

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps from Malay mata(-mata) (“police”) or from French matraque. Compare Min Nan 馬打 / 马打 (má-tâ), Thai หมาต๋า (mǎa-dtǎa).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

mã tà

  1. (Southern Vietnam, historical) policeman during the French colonial period
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