cát

Alternative forms

• (North Central Vietnam) gát

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *t-kaːc, from Proto-Austroasiatic *skaːcʔ (“sand”). Doublet of Kế Sách and cognate with Khmer ខ្សាច់ (khsac).

The unexpected lenition in many North Central dialects (which are often unaffected by lenition compared to the mainstream dialects) is due to hypercorrection.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaːt̚˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaːk̚˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kaːk̚˦˥]

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Noun

(classifier hạt) cát • (吉, 葛, 𡋥, 𪶼, 𣻅, 𡑪)

1. sand

   đồng hồ cát ― an hourglass

2. grain (as in a fine grain of silk)