Phù Tang

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• Phù-Tang, Phù-tang, Phù tang

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 扶桑 (an alternate Chinese name of the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), derived from the name of a legendary tree that was said to have grown somewhere in the East China Sea (東海 / 东海 (Dōnghǎi)), where the sun rose. The name was also used to refer to the sun, and a legendary country that was located in the East.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [fu˨˩ taːŋ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [fʊw˦˩ taːŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [fʊw˨˩ taːŋ˧˧]

Proper noun

Phù Tang

1. (literary, Chinese mythology) Fusang, legendary land to the East commonly assumed to be Japan
2. (literary) Synonym of Nhật Bản (“Japan (an island country in Asia)”)

   xứ Phù Tang

   the land of Japan