con nít

Etymology

con (“child”) +‎ nít (“small (of a child)”); the second element is from Proto-Vietic *ɗiːt (“small”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kɗit ~ *kɗiit ~ *kɗiət. Cognate with Riang [Lang] kᵊndiət² ("small"), Khasi khyndiat (“few, little”), Mon ဍောတ်.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kɔn˧˧ nit̚˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kɔŋ˧˧ nit̚˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kɔŋ˧˧ nɨt̚˦˥]

Noun

con nít

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam, derogatory elsewhere) small child, kid
   • 1957, Đoàn Giỏi, chapter 3, in Đất rừng phương Nam, Kim Đồng:

     Con nít ở đây đều nếm mùi thịt rắn từ hồi còn trong bụng mẹ.

     The kids around here get a taste for snake meat from when still inside their mothers' bellies.