nhất

Etymology
.

The ‹nh-› is from, which was perceived as the implosive then developed into  as implosives nasalized:. For a similar case of development of Middle Chinese, compare , from. See Ferlus (2009) for details.

Sino-Vietnamese shows fairly systemic contrast between characters belonging to Chongniu III and IV rime groups with certain initials: nhất (< < ) vs. (< < ),  (<  <  < ) vs. (< < ),  (<  < ) vs. (< < ). The first character of each pair belongs to Chongniu IV group and shows clear palatalization in its Sino-Vietnamese reflexes, while the second belongs to Chongniu III and yields simplex initial.

Usage notes

 * Unlike other cardinal numbers, the ordinal phrasal expression for is not *thứ một, but.

Adverb

 * 1) * 2005, Nguyễn Ngọc Tư, "Biển người mênh mông" (in Cánh đồng bất tận), Trẻ publishing house
 * "vi"
 * 1) * 2005, Nguyễn Ngọc Tư, "Biển người mênh mông" (in Cánh đồng bất tận), Trẻ publishing house
 * "vi"
 * 1) * 2005, Nguyễn Ngọc Tư, "Biển người mênh mông" (in Cánh đồng bất tận), Trẻ publishing house
 * "vi"
 * "vi"

- Người ta buồn nhất, cô đơn nhất là khi ngủ dậy.