Nôm

Sino-Vietnamese word from 南 (“south”), likely based on the form from the South Central dialects (most notably in the name of province of Quảng Nam, known locally as Quảng Nôm). Like nam/Nam, Nôm has been used to refer to Vietnam as opposed to Bắc (“North”) which is China.

See also nôm, whence the adjective nôm na (“basically, in layman's terms”).

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [nom˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [nom˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [nom˧˧]

Nôm • (喃)

1. (of a written record) written in Vietnamese using chữ Nôm

   bà chúa thơ Nôm ― Queen of Nôm poetry

2. (historical) the common speech; the vernacular (as opposed to Classical Chinese which was used only in official writings)