Debate: Is 'lông se tiêu' or 'lông xe tiêu' correctly spelled?

A section of pig's small intestine that is controversial in terms of its name.

So is it the heart of the pipe or the heart of the rolling pipe ?

In the Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Professor Hoang Phe), xe dieu is a noun, explained as a long and thin tube inserted into a tobacco pipe. The dictionary does not record the word se dieu .

The core is tightly packed, so it is called a pipe core?

Culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai shared with Tuoi Tre Online that he is leaning towards the " cigarette heart " option.

According to him, the word "se" comes from the shape of this part of the pipe. The pipe is tightly packed, so it is called "se ".

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Mr. Hai said he never eats this part of the intestine because "it is extremely dirty". "The condition of the intestine appearing when the pig has poor digestion, full of worms, causing the intestine to thicken", he said.

"Although it is potentially dangerous, people still try to buy and eat it because this part of the intestine is special, thick, and crispy, and when eaten, it seems delicious," Mr. Hai added.

Linguistics: "The correct spelling is 'long xe '"

However, from a linguistic perspective, it's different. Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Professor Tran Tri Doi said that "writing "long xe dieu " is the correct spelling."

He said that to determine which word is correct and which word is incorrect, one should base it on Vietnamese dictionaries (especially those dictionaries that are accepted and highly agreed upon by public opinion). Besides dictionaries, it should be noted that these are only personal opinions.

In the Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Professor Hoang Phe), only "xe dua" is recorded, not "se dua" - Photo: D.DUNG

"In terms of cuisine, people may say "long se dieu" is correct; but in terms of language, "long xe dieu" is a borrowed phrase, referring to the shape of this section of intestine that resembles a "xe dieu". In which "long" is a noun, "xe dieu" refers to a quality, an adjective," he said.

Mr. Hoang Tuan Cong, author of the book Vietnamese Dictionary of Professor Nguyen Lan - Criticism and Research, also leans towards this point of view.

On his personal Facebook page, Mr. Cong said that although the explanation of the name "long xe dieu" is not good, the spelling should be " xe dieu" , not "se dieu ".

Regarding this issue, a Vietnamese lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, expressed that the reason there is a debate about long se dieu and long xe dieu is because in the North, people pronounce se and xe the same.

"People tend to read in whatever way is most convenient. For example, the word "ruou " has a difficult pronunciation, not everyone can pronounce it, so people read it as "riêu". Now people read it as "riêu" even though it is still written as "ruou", he said.

However, the respondent also added that "language is arbitrary, meaning it has no reason. People cannot explain why Vietnamese calls the concept of ban to mean a table; while English calls a table a table . Therefore, in some cases, it is only relative."

And the more you speak, the more you find Vietnamese rich.

When asked, from a personal perspective, leaning towards "long se dieu" or "long xe dieu", this person said "long xe dieu" . So, you should rely on the dictionary to determine the correct/incorrect spelling.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tranh-cai-long-se-dieu-hay-long-xe-dieu-moi-dung-chinh-ta-20250507171105024.htm