xà bông

Vietnamese

Etymology

From French savon.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [saː˨˩ ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [saː˦˩ ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [saː˨˩ ʔɓəwŋ͡m˧˧]

Noun

(Southern Vietnam) soap
Cho cháu xà bông ạ.
Omo hay Tide?
Dạ không, cho cháu xà bông ạ. À, xà bông tắm ấy ạ!
I'd like some soap.
You want Omo or Tide?
No, please get me some soap. Oh, I meant soap as in "bathing soap"!
(Southern Vietnam, colloquial) laundry detergent; washing powder

Usage notes

In Southern regions, xà bông usually colloquially refers to "laundry detergent" instead of "soap". If you go to a general store asking for a xà bông, they would give you laundry powder. You should be more specific by asking for a xà bông tắm (literally “soap for bathing”) if you want a real soap, and for a xà bông giặt (literally “soap for laundry”) if you want detergent.

Synonyms

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.