From "trửng" and "chửng" to "trộng" and "lống"

In our column "Casual Conversations on Words" (July 7, 2025), we demonstrated that "nuốt chút" and "nuốt trửng" are two possible spelling mistakes. In this article, we'd like to digress to another interesting topic: the difference between "trộng" and "lống".

It is noteworthy that many dictionaries collect the word "nuốt trọg" with the same meaning as "nuốt chút" or "nuốt trửng". For example, Hoang Phe-Vietlex dictionaries explain "nuốt trọg" as "nuốt chút" and give the example "the boy swallowed the whole piece of cake". The Khai Tri dictionary also records "nuốt trọg" and explains it as "Same meaning as 'nuốt trửng'".

Many ancient dictionaries only record "nuốt trộng" (swallowing whole) and not "nuốt trửng" (swallowing whole), such as: Đại Nam quấc âm (1885, 1896); Annam-Latin Dictionary (GM. Taberd - 1883); Francais-Anamite Dictionary (Trương Vĩnh Ký - 1884). In Đại Nam quấc âm, "trống" is defined as: "Large, quite large and intact; trọng trọng = Medium large, not small; trọng trơn = Large and intact. A whole grain of rice; trọng hột = Large grain; trọng đứa = That large, not small; Ăn cơm trọng = Eating whole grains of rice; eating alone without chewing. (A young child); Nuốt trọng = Swallowing something large without chewing first."

The word "ngút trọng/trộng" has transformed into "nuốt trẩng," "nuốt trửng," and then "nuốt chút" (which is still preserved in the Thanh Hoa dialect). The relationship Ô ↔ U is still found in the Thanh Hoa dialect, such as đì đồng ↔ đì đùng; đến cồng ↔ đến cùng. As for the relationship ỤNG ↔ ỦNG, we have: chựng lại ↔ chững/chửng lại; sựng người ↔ sựng người; vụng nước ↔ vũng/vổng nước,...

As for the TR ↔ CH relationship, we have cited examples many times, such as: tea ↔ chè; trương ↔ chương; trì ↔ chày; trực ↔ chực,...

So, considering the etymology, where do the words "trộng" → "trửng" → "chưng" come from? We believe that "trộng" originates from the word "trọng" 重, which means "large." "Nuốt trọg" means to swallow a large piece whole without chewing. "Trộng hột / trọng hạt" = large grain. In spoken language, we still encounter the expression "chọn lấy cái trọg," meaning to choose the largest piece/lump/piece/grain. The word "trộng" in "ăn cơm trọg" (eating rice with a large grain) is synonymous with "lống" in "ăn cơm lống" (eating rice with a large grain) (Thanh Hóa dialect), referring to children or kittens who can eat rice with whole grains without chewing. For example, asking: "Is the kitten grown up yet?", "Is the child grown up yet?"; the answer: "They know how to eat rice with a large grain."

"Nuốt lống," in the Ha Tinh dialect, means "to swallow whole." The word "lông lống/lống lống" (in the Thanh Hoa dialect) is synonymous with "trồng trọng/trộng trọng," meaning quite large, quite big; already quite large, already quite big. For example: Choose a chicken with slightly fluffy feathers; What a pity, the flock of chickens, which I took so much care of, had just started to grow a little fluffy feather before they were stolen ("hấn" means "he," referring to a thief).

The relationship TR ↔ L (trộng/trọng ↔ lống) can also be seen in many other cases such as: trong ↔ lòng (egg yolk/egg yolk); trong ↔ lòng (tròng into the neck/lòng/lòng into the neck); trũng ↔ lùng (trũng down/lũng down); trõm ↔ ngục (trõ down/ngọm down); trọc ↔ còn (trõ down/ngọm down); trọc ↔ còn (trọc up/convex up),...

In the Đại Nam Quốc Âm (Great Vietnamese National Language), the entry for "trộng" is written with the character 重 (trọng), and Huình Tịnh Paulus Của's annotation is "Nôm". However, as mentioned above, the character "trộng" comes from "trọng". Therefore, in terms of origin, the character 'trộng' 重 here is actually a Chinese character pronounced according to Vietnamese pronunciation, not a self-created Nôm character. The relationship ONG ↔ ÔNG (trọng ↔ trôngg) can be seen in many other cases such as thả rong ↔ thả rông; long nhong ↔ lông nhông; rọng dải ↔ rộng rộng; cộng trừ ↔ cộng trừ,...

Thus, expressions like "swallowing," "swallowing," "swallowing indistinctly," "swallowing loosely," or "eating mixed rice," "eating loose rice," although seemingly different phonetically, are actually etymologically related to the word "trọng" 重, meaning "large." From a common root meaning, through phonetic changes and dialectal differentiation, many different variations have emerged, such as trọng → trôngg → trửng → chứng, or trọng/trọng → lống. These cases demonstrate the deep connection between dialects and standard Vietnamese, and also quite clearly reflect the rules of phonetic change in the history of the Vietnamese language.

Hoang Trinh Son (Contributor)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/tu-trung-chung-nbsp-den-trong-long-287077.htm