cố hương

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Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Sino-Vietnamese word from 故鄉, composed of (old) and (hometown).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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.
      ”)