thiêng liêng

Vietnamese

Etymology

Neither a result of reduplication of thiêng nor non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 精靈 (SV: tinh linh),[1] but more likely non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 聖靈 (SV: thánh linh).[2]

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [tʰiəŋ˧˧ liəŋ˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [tʰiəŋ˧˧ liəŋ˧˧]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [tʰiəŋ˧˧ liəŋ˧˧]

Adjective

thiêng liêng

  1. spiritual; sacred
    giây phút thiêng liêng ― in one's sacred moments

References

  1. ^ An Chi (19 December 2021) “Lắt léo chữ nghĩa: Về địa danh Thiềng Liềng”, in Thanh Niên
  2. ^ Nguyễn Anh Vũ (21 December 2021) “'Thiêng' trong 'Thiêng Liêng' là 'Tinh' hay là 'Thánh'?”, in Thanh Niên
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