ba hồn bảy vía

Vietnamese

Etymology

Calque of Chinese 三魂七魄 (tam hồn thất phách, literally “three hun, seven po”)

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ hon˨˩ ʔɓaj˧˩ viə˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ hoŋ˦˩ ʔɓaj˧˨ viə˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ hoŋ˨˩ ʔɓa(ː)j˨˩˦ viə˦˥] ~ [ʔɓaː˧˧ hoŋ˨˩ ʔɓa(ː)j˨˩˦ jiə˦˥]

• Audio (Hà Nội)

  (file)

Noun

ba hồn bảy vía

1. (occult, typically in summoning rituals) the three hun and seven po of a dead male person

   Bớ ba hồn bảy vía ông Quang!

   O the holy spirits of Mr. Quang!

See also

• ba hồn chín vía