lạc trôi

Vietnamese

Etymology

From the 2017 song Lạc trôi, a compound of lạc (“to be lost”) +‎ trôi (“to drift; to flow”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laːk̚˧˨ʔ t͡ɕoj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laːk̚˨˩ʔ ʈoj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [laːk̚˨˩˨ ʈoj˧˧]

Verb

lạc trôi

1. (neologism, slang) to be lost; to lose one's direction; to be lost and adrift
2. (neologism, slang) to go with the flow; to float with the stream