xung phong

Vietnamese

FWOTD – 6 September 2023

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 衝鋒.

The original meaning is "to charge ahead to assault", which probably developed into "to willingly throw oneself out of safety", then to current "to volunteer". Even now when its usage has spread widely outside of military contexts, the term still carries a slight militaristic tone.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sʊwŋ͡m˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [sʊwŋ͡m˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [sʊwŋ͡m˧˧ fɔŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [sʊwŋ͡m˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧]

Verb

xung phong

1. (obsolete) to charge ahead to assault
   • 1955, Hồ Biểu Chánh, chapter 6, in Hai vợ:

     Tuy có súng song số binh ít quá, sợ giặc bao vây rồi xung phong đánh xáp lá cà không thể cự nổi, bởi vậy quan chỉ huy truyền lịnh thối lui ra phía Bao Ngược đặng sai người về Gia Ðịnh báo ngay và xin binh tiếp viện.

     Although they had firearms, there were simply not enough soldiers; if surrounded by the enemies, they would not be able to face them head-on, so the commander decided to retreat to Bạo Ngược and sent a troop to Gia Định to report and ask for reinforcements.

2. to volunteer for a task or mission

   xung phong trả lời câu hỏi ― to volunteer to answer a question

   Có ai xung phong không?

   Are there any volunteers?