Etymology

From vi (微, "mini-") and khuẩn (菌, "bacterium"). Possibly influenced by Chinese 微菌 (wēijūn, "bacteria") and 細菌/细菌 (xìjūn, "bacteria").

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [vi˧˧ xwɜn˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [vɪj˧˧ xwɜŋ˧˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [vʲɪj˧˥ xwɜŋ˨˦]