Etymology

Literally, “grass (during) summer, bug (during) winter”. Compare Chinese 冬蟲夏草／冬虫夏草 (dōngchóngxiàcǎo).

Pronunciation

• Old Tibetan:
  • IPA^(key): /*dbʲar.rt͡sʷa.dgun.ᵐbu/ (reconstructed)
• Ü-Tsang
  • Tibetan Pinyin: yaa^f-za^f guen^v-bu^f
  • (Lhasa) IPA^(key): /jaː˥˥.t͡sa˥˥ kỹ˩˧.pu˥˥/