hnub

White Hmong

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong *hnɛŋᴬ (“sun, day”), borrowed from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *s-nəj (“id”). Cognate with Proto-Mien *hnu̯ɔiᴬ (“id”), Tibetan ཉི་མ (nyi ma), Old Chinese 日 (OC *njiɡ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n̥u˥/

Noun

hnub (classifier: lub)

1. day

   Antonym: hmos (“night”)

   Ib hnub muas 24 teev. ― One day has 24 hours.

2. sun

   Lub hnub loj dua ntiaj teb. ― The sun is larger than the earth.

   Lub hnub ci nsta iab. ― The sun is shining bright.

Derived terms

• hnub caiv (“holiday”)
• hnub nyoog (“age, time”)
• hnub poob (“sunset”)
• hnub qub (“star”)
• hnub tuaj (“sunrise”)

 

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[1], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 71.