About some reduplicative words: Thap thè, thè lè, thò lô, mơi lôi

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - In the previous issue of the "Chatting about words and meanings" column, we mentioned some reduplicative words of Chinese origin: "phan tran", "chau chan", "han hau van". In this article, we continue to analyze the meanings of the elements in the reduplicative words: "thap lo", "thè lè", "tho lo", "tho loi loi". (The part in quotation marks after the item number is the original text of the Vietnamese Reduplicative Word Dictionary - Institute of Linguistics - editor-in-chief Hoang Van Hanh; the line breaks are our analysis and discussion):

1-“PEEPER. Sticking out and then pulling back many times, appearing and then retreating, disappearing immediately, with timidity and fear. Not daring to enter the house, just peeking outside the gate. The mouse peeks at the entrance of its cave. “At the doors, a few heads peek. Some places just open and then close immediately” (To Hoai)”.

In fact, "thập nhớ" is a compound word [with the same meaning], in which "thập" means to retract, to crouch down (like sitting down); "họ" means to come out, to stick out (like sticking one's head out). "Thập" = to retract; "họ" = to peek; "thập nhớ" = to retract and then peek out; to retract and then peek out:

None of the dictionaries we have in hand records thap as meaning to shrink, thup. However, the Vietnamese dictionary indirectly records thap as a synonym for thup. The entry for “thup” in this dictionary explains it as “Sitting down” and gives the example “Thup sat down a few times before the grave and walked out (Kieu)”.

The word "thousand" in "thousand" means the same as "thousand" in "thousand" (stepping low and high).

Thus, "thập nhớ" is a compound word, not a reduplicative word.

2-"THÈ LE đgt. 1. Sticking out a very long tongue from the mouth. The tongue is sticking out. “He stuck his tongue out like a dog in the hot season” (Nam Cao). 2. Sticking out much more than the others in the same row. The house is sticking out on the edge of the road”.

Thè lè is a compound word [similar in meaning], in which thè means to stick out, to lick (like Thè lám ma lick); lè means to stick out, to stick the tongue out of the mouth; to push it out (like Nắng tháng ba ga c lè). Some words like chua lè, chật lè... are word formations based on reality, when eating something sour, astringent, people often stick out, stick out their tongue, and push, push that sour, astringent food out of their mouth. Vietnamese dictionary (book cited) explains: “thê • Put out, stick out <> Thè lám.”; “lè • Thòi ra, phun ra <> A piece of paper stuck out. Can't eat it, have to stick it out.”

Thus, "thè lè" is a compound word, not a reduplicative word.

3-“Snot running out. (Snot) runs out in a long, hanging stream. Runny nose”.

Thò lô is a compound word [contemporary]. Thò means to stick out (same meaning as the word "thò" in "thập chỉ"), to show, to stick out (like "He held out a ham hock, she held out a bottle of wine" - Proverb; "I haven't shown my face in the street for several days"); lô also means to stick out, to stick out (like "He was afraid so he didn't dare show his face in the past several days").

The Vietnamese dictionaries we have in hand do not record “lo” as meaning “to stick out”. However, this word is still commonly used in the Thanh-Nghe region, as the Nghe Dictionary has recorded: “Lò - to stick out the face... or stick out the face...”.

Thus, "lo lo" is a compound word, not a reduplicative word.

4-“THÒI LÒI (unintelligible) (unintelligible)”. Sticking out in a messy way. The shirt flap sticking out from the belt. The handkerchief sticking out of the trouser pocket”.

Thòi lôi is a compound word [similar in meaning], in which, lôi means to stick out, to stick out, to stick out (like sticking out the intestines; Your pants pocket is sticking out!); lôi also means to stick out, to stick out (like sticking out the intestines; In the end, the money must stick out); synonymous with nhớ, lôi, tôi.

Thus, the four words "thập thủ", "thè lè", "thố lô", and "họôi lôi" that the Vietnamese Reduplicative Word Dictionary collected are actually all compound words, not reduplicative words.

Hoang Trinh Son (Contributor)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ve-mot-so-tu-lay-thap-tho-the-le-tho-lo-thoi-loi-253427.htm