It's funny how I can sort-of read the Dutch word in "τύν": spit "tuf" and spitti...

stavros · 2025-04-08T16:40:49 1744130449

It is a false cognafe, it's not pronounced "oo", but "ee". It's just onomatopoeia, that's why it's so similar.

thaumasiotes · 2025-04-08T22:56:34 1744152994

Mandarin is 吐 /tʰu/.

jorvi · 2025-04-08T21:39:59 1744148399

We pronounce it t-uh-f, as in "tough" without the o.

thaumasiotes · 2025-04-08T23:00:21 1744153221

Note that ν is an N, not a V. I think the standard transliteration of φτύνω from modern Greek would be "ftino".

(Note also that "tough" is pronounced t-uh-f /tʌf/, with nothing O-like anywhere in it.)

jorvi · 2025-04-10T17:55:52 1744307752

I wonder if that's because of the two different ways you can spit: without windup ("tuf" sound) and with windup / breathing in ("hff-tuf" sound).