trời

See also: troi, Troi, trói, tròi, and trôi

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

(Northern Vietnam, inland dialects) giời
(Northern Vietnam, coastal dialects, likely obsolete) lời
(Northern Vietnam, coastal dialects, endangered) tời
(Nẫu) trầu

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *b-ləːj (“sky”), from Proto-Austroasiatic *briːʔ (“sky, rain”). Compare also Muong tlời and Chut [Rục] pləːj².

This particular form is originally the Central-Southern form. The Northern forms include giời from the inland dialects, and lời and tời from the coastal dialects. Both of the coastal Northern forms had already disappeared or are highly endangered since the early 20th century, leaving giời as the representative Northern form, although even this form is losing ground to the written form.

Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 𫶸, composed of 巴 (MC pae) + 例 (MC ljejH) (modern SV: ba lệ), 婆例 (MC ba ljejH) (modern SV: bà lệ) and 婆雷 (MC ba lwoj) (modern SV: bà lôi). Attested in Annan Jishi (安南即事, 13th century) as 勃耒 (MC bwot lwijX|lwojH) (modern SV: bột lỗi). Attested in Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651) as blời.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕəːj˨˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈəːj˦˩]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʈəːj˨˩]
Audio (Saigon): (file)

Noun

(classifier bầu) trời • (𡗶, 𫯝, 𫶸, 𱘷)

sky
ngoài trời ― outdoor(s) (literally, “out [under] the sky”)
- 1962, “Hãy để mặt trời luôn chiếu sáng [May There Always Be Sunshine]”, Phong Nhã, transl., Lev Oshanin (lyrics), Arkady Ostrovsky (music), translation of Пусть всегда будет солнце (in Russian):
  Một vòng tròn xoe, xoay giữa bầu trời
  Họa sĩ bé xíu vẽ ông mặt trời
  A perfect circle, turning in the sky
  The little painter draws the sun
weather
trời nóng/mát/lạnh ― it's hot/cool/cold

Trời đẹp nhỉ?
The weather is great, isn't it?
(sometimes capitalized) Heaven, heavenly lord (personification of the sky)
bị trời đánh ― to be punished by divine wrath (literally, “to be struck by Heaven”)

Bắc thang lên mà hỏi ông trời!
Set up a ladder, climb it, and ask the heavenly lord!

trời đánh tránh bữa ăn ― Don't cause ruckuses at meal times (literally, “Even the heavenly lord knows better not to strike at meal times”)

Con cóc là cậu ông trời,
Nếu ai đánh cóc thì trời đánh cho.
The Toad is the heavenly lord’s boss,
If you strike him, the heavenly lord will strike you.
- 1921, Tản Đà, Hầu Trời [Serving the Heavenly Lord]:
  - “Trời nghe hạ giới ai ngâm nga,
  Tiếng ngâm vang cả sông Ngân Hà!
  Làm Trời mất ngủ, Trời đương mắng
  Có hay lên đọc, Trời nghe qua”.
  The Heavenly Lord heard someone reciting in the realm below,
  Such recital echoed across the Milky Way!
  It disturbed the His slumber, and He chided:
  “If you're so good, come up here and recite, I the Heavenly Lord will listen!”

Derived terms

Adjective

trời

(of anseriforms) wild
ngỗng trời ― a wild goose
Used after ngày, tháng, or năm to emphasize a lengthy duration
mười ngày trời ― a full ten days

gần ba năm trời ― almost a full three years

Interjection

trời

(colloquial) good Lord!
Trời, sao lại làm như thế?
Good Lord, what did (you/he/she/it) do that for?

Synonyms

trời ơi

Related terms

References

"trời" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)
Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)