cố hương

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 故鄉, composed of 故 (“old”) and 鄉 (“hometown”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ko˧˦ hɨəŋ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kow˨˩˦ hɨəŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kow˦˥ hɨəŋ˧˧]

Noun

cố hương

1. (literary) hometown; birthplace

   Synonyms: quê nhà, quê cũ

   • Li Bai, "Quiet Night Thought"; 1987 Vietnamese translation by Nam Trân

     Đầu giường ánh trăng rọi,
     Mặt đất như phủ sương.
     Ngẩng đầu nhìn trăng sáng,
     Cúi đầu nhớ cố hương.

     Before my bed shines the bright moon
     Meseems there's frost on the ground
     Lifting my head, I watch the bright moon,
     Lowering my head, I miss my hometown.

   • Matsuo Bashō's haiku, translated by Đoàn Lê Giang:

     Đất khách mười mùa sương
     về thăm quê ngoảnh lại
     Ê-đô là cố hương.

     autumn, ten years:
     now I point to Edo
     as the old home.

     (literally, “It was the strange land for ten misty years
     but when I came back home
     it was Edo that felt like my old home.”)