gấu trúc

Vietnamese

Etymology

gấu (“bear”) +‎ trúc (竹) (“a kind of bamboo”).

Sometimes gấu mèo (literally “cat bear”) can be seen used as a synonym, but this is mostly seen in translation of Chinese sources that use 貓熊 / 猫熊 (māoxióng). In Vietnamese, gấu mèo usually refers to the raccoon.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˧˦ t͡ɕʊwk͡p̚˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˨˩˦ ʈʊwk͡p̚˦˧˥]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣəw˦˥ ʈʊwk͡p̚˦˥]

Noun

(classifier con) gấu trúc

giant panda

Derived terms

gấu trúc đỏ (“red panda”)