bắt cóc

== Vietnamese == === Etymology === The Đại Nam quấc âm tự vị (1895) explains this as a truncation of the phrase bắt cóc bỏ dĩa (“pointless, futile”, literally “to get a toad and put it on a plate”), since a toad (captive) being put on a plate (useless confinement) can easily jump away; if so, the second element is indeed cóc (“toad”). Still, this might just be a folk etymology. === Pronunciation === (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓat̚˧˦ kawk͡p̚˧˦] (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓak̚˦˧˥ kawk͡p̚˦˧˥] (Saigon) IPA(key): [ʔɓak̚˦˥ kawk͡p̚˦˥] === Verb === bắt cóc to kidnap; to abduct