Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng

Vietnamese

Etymology

Phong Nha +‎ Kẻ Bàng.

"Phong Nha": Sino-Vietnamese word from 風牙 (“wind teeth”) (the wind blowing in the cave makes stalactites like teeth) or Sino-Vietnamese word from 峰衙 (“peak mandarins”) (the mountains are arranged in regular rows like the image of mandarins standing in rows on the courtyard or in the officer mansion). All of these are some people's own opinions on the place name etymologies. See the Vietnamese Wikipedia for more.

"Kẻ Bàng": Maybe kẻ (“village”) +‎ bàng (“country almond”)? Compare Kẻ Chợ.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [fawŋ͡m˧˧ ɲaː˧˧ kɛ˧˩ ʔɓaːŋ˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [fawŋ͡m˧˧ ɲaː˧˧ kɛ˧˨ ʔɓaːŋ˦˩] ~ [fɔŋ˧˧ ɲaː˧˧ kɛ˧˨ ʔɓaːŋ˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [fawŋ͡m˧˧ ɲaː˧˧ kɛ˨˩˦ ʔɓaːŋ˨˩]
• Phonetic: phong nha kẻ bàng

Proper noun

Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng

1. Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng National Park (a national park in Quảng Bình, Vietnam)

Synonyms

• Vườn quốc gia Phong Nha - Kẻ Bàng