chết yểu

Vietnamese

Etymology

chết (“to die”) +‎ yểu (“premature”), calque of Chinese 夭折 (to die young).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕet̚˧˦ ʔiəw˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕet̚˦˧˥ ʔiw˧˨]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [cəːt̚˦˥ ʔiw˨˩˦]

Verb

chết yểu • (折夭)

1. to die young; to perish in youth
2. (figurative) to end prematurely; to be short-lived; to be aborted early