phương

See also: Phương, phướng, phượng, and Phượng

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from .

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [fɨəŋ˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [fɨəŋ˧˧]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [fɨəŋ˧˧]
  • Homophone: Phương
  • Audio (Hà Nội):(file)

Noun

phương

  1. direction (theoretical line)
    phương bắcnorthern; northerly
    Mặt các chất lỏng yên lặng có phương nằm ngang
    The surface of still liquids has a horizontal direction.
    Mọi vật rơi theo phương đứng thẳng.
    All objects fall in a vertical direction.
  2. direction (guidance, instruction)

Usage notes

Each of the cardinal directions (đông, tây, nam, bắc), when used in conjunction with this term in reference to a region, would give native speakers different ideas. Phương bắc is usually understood as one of the countries further north of Vietnam (such as Russia or China); miền Bắc or simply bắc would be used to mean the north of Vietnam instead. Contrastingly, phương nam typically denotes Southern Vietnam, while phương tây and phương đông are used to describe the Western and the Eastern world, respectively.

Derived terms

See also

  • Obsolete terms: phương chi ("especially when; let alone; much less")