xờ nhẹ

Vietnamese

Etymology

xờ (“ex”) +‎ nhẹ (“lightweight”). Since ‹x› properly represents an alveolar /s/ which feels "light" as opposed to a retroflex /ʂ/ represented by ‹s›, this name may be used by those (usually northerners) who don't distinguish the two sounds to distinguish the two letters in writing.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [səː˨˩ ɲɛ˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [səː˦˩ ɲɛ˨˩ʔ]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [səː˨˩ ɲɛ˨˩˨]

Noun

xờ nhẹ

1. (informal) The name of the Latin-script letter X.

   Synonym: ích-xì

   Antonym: sờ nặng