tam khôi

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 三 (“three”) and 魁 (“leaders”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˧ xoj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˧ kʰoj˧˧] ~ [taːm˧˧ xoj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˧ kʰoj˧˧] ~ [taːm˧˧ xoj˧˧]

Noun

tam khôi

1. (historical, collective) the three highest winners in the imperial exam (or Confucian court exam)