Why do Vietnamese people call frogs "cocon ga"?

Winter melon cooked with chicken

Invite a meal to see who the husband comes home to.

Young bamboo shoots cooked with wild chicken,

Let's play a game to see who the husband will be.

(Vietnamese folk songs)

In the Vietnamese dictionary (Association for the Advancement of Wisdom), the entry for “ga dong” is briefly explained as “a frog”. The Vietnamese dictionary (edited by Hoang Phe) explains “ga dong” as “a frog, referring to its edible and delicious meat”.

The Great Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Nguyen Nhu Y) explains “ga dong” as “a butchered frog”. In the Dictionary of Vietnamese Words and Phrases, Professor Nguyen Lan explains “ga dong” as “a joking word used to refer to a frog”.

After quoting four dictionaries, we still don't know why the frog is called "cop".

So, why is the "frog" called "field chicken"?

The Chinese name for frogs is “tian ke” (bronze chicken). The original book Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen, the entry for “oa” (frog) explains: “The frog croaks very loudly, its sound is like chicken, so it is called “tian ke” (bronze chicken).”

In the countryside, after summer showers, people often go hunting for frogs. The reason why people call frogs or frog meat "field chicken" is because its meat tastes delicious like chicken.

Compendium of Materia Medica is an encyclopedic dictionary of medicine, compiled by Li Shizhen in the 16th century, early Ming Dynasty, China.

Li Shizhen spent 27 years collecting nearly a thousand documents, personally traveling to regions to survey animals and plants in nature that could be used as oriental medicine.

Compendium of Materia Medica is considered the most voluminous, detailed and systematic medical and pharmaceutical work in the history of Oriental medicine. Throughout its hundreds of years of history, this book has become a handbook for Oriental medicine practitioners, not only in China but also in Vietnam.

Thus, the reason why people call frogs or frog meat “field chicken” is because its meat tastes delicious like chicken. And the way Vietnamese people call frogs “field chicken” may have been influenced by the book Compendium of Materia Medica (*).

( *) - "Dien ke" or "dien ke dieu" is also used to refer to some types of water chickens such as flu nuoc, rooster rich, dwarf cuoc, etc.

“Dien ke” or “Dien ke bao” is also the name of a small-sized firearm (mortar, artillery) of the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty. Dien ke bao (also called tiger dun bao) is placed on a four-legged stand, the front two legs are high, the back two legs are low, looking like a frog or a tiger squatting, hence the name.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tai-sao-nguoi-viet-nam-lai-goi-con-ech-la-con-ga-dong-2024081214151045.htm