rau câu

Vietnamese

Etymology

From rau (“leaf vegetable”) +‎ câu (the name of the plant). The term was originally used to refer to red algae of the genus Gracilaria, and later to jelly. These red algae are a source of agar, a gelatin substitute in jelly.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaw˧˧ kəw˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʐaw˧˧ kəw˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɹa(ː)w˧˧ kəw˧˧]

Noun

rau câu

(botany) Gracilaria
(Southern Vietnam) jelly (dessert)
Synonyms: thạch, đông sương