Etymology

tay ("hand; man") + kiếm ("sword"). Similar to Chinese 手 ‎(“hand”), the "tay" pattern is also used on tay súng ‎(“gunner”), tay bắn tỉa ‎(“sniper”) and tay trong ‎(“insider, spy”), referring to a practitioner or an expert of some field.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tɐj˧˧ kiɜm˧ˀ˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tɐj˧˧ kiɜm˦˥]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tɐj˧˥ kiɜm˦ˀ˥]