thinh không

Vietnamese

Etymology

From thinh +‎ không; the 1st element is likely non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 清 (“quiet, still”, SV: thanh) while the 2nd is Sino-Vietnamese word from 空 (“emptiness; → space, heaven (in compounds)”).

Compare yêng hùng, whose 1st element is a southern dialectal & non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 英 (SV: anh) & chầu văn, whose 1st element is non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 朝 (SV: triều).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰïŋ˧˧ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰɨn˧˧ kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [tʰɨn˧˧ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [tʰɨn˧˧ kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [tʰɨn˧˧ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]

Noun

thinh không

1. (rare, literary) sky, heaven, atmosphere, space, ether

   Thinh Không ― Ether (a musical composition by Lương Huệ Trinh & Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir)

   • c. 1990s, “Nhịp Đàn Đêm Giáng Sinh [Harps' Rhythms on Christmas Eve]”, Đỗ Vy Hạ (lyrics), contrafactum of Marcel Dazin's Rassemblez-vous bonnes gens [Gather ye, good folks!]:

     Chuông ngân nhịp nhàng giữa đêm vắng,
     Thinh không sứ thần hát vang,
     Mời gọi toàn dân mau mau đến chầu,
     Hoà lời tụng ca Chúa ta.

     The bells rang rhythmically in the empty night,
     In heaven the angels sang resoundingly,
     Inviting all people to quickly come and pay homage,
     And harmonize praises for our Lord.

2. (rare, literary) air (substance)

   Khi hơi thở hóa thinh không ― When Breath Becomes Air (a non-fiction autobiography by American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi)