trẻ

Etymology

Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as ⿺礼亇, composed of 亇 + 礼 (MC lejX) (modern SV: cá lễ), 礼 (MC lejX) (modern SV: lễ) and 里 (MC liX) (modern SV: lí). Attested as tlẻ in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651).

Sometimes connected to Chinese 稚 (MC drijH) (SV: trĩ) but this can now be rejected based on the *kl- cluster in Old Vietnamese.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕɛ˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈɛ˧˨]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʈɛ˨˩˦]

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Adjective

trẻ • (礼, 󰻛, 󱎣, 𥘷, 里, 稚, 穉, 雉, 𪨅, 𱚫)

1. (of humans) young

Noun

(classifier đứa) trẻ • (礼, 󰻛, 󱎣, 𥘷, 里, 稚, 穉, 雉, 𪨅, 𱚫)

1. (slightly formal) a child

   Anh đã mơ về ngôi nhà và những đứa trẻ.

   I've dreamed of our house and our children.

Noun

trẻ • (礼, 󰻛, 󱎣, 𥘷, 里, 稚, 穉, 雉, 𪨅, 𱚫)

1. young children; infants

   trẻ tự kỉ ― autistic children

   dành cho trẻ dưới 3 tuổi ― for children 3 years old and below