tâm lí

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• tâm lý

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 心理, composed of 心 (“heart; mind”) and 理 (“workings”), Japanese 心理 (shinri, “psychological”, literally “workings of the mind”). The Japanese term was also used to mean "intellectual" in contrast with 物理 (butsuri, vật lí, “naturalist; physical”, literally “workings of things”), as a type of discipline that concerned theology, philosophy, politics and law. Compare sinh lí (“physiology”, literally “workings of life”) and địa lí (“geography”, literally “workings of the earth”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [təm˧˧ li˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [təm˧˧ lɪj˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [təm˧˧ lɪj˦˥]

• Audio (Hà Nội)

  (file)

Noun

tâm lí

1. psyche, especially concerns, hang-ups or baggage

   tâm lí người tiêu dùng

   consumers' concerns

Adjective

tâm lí

1. (psychology) psychological

See also

• tâm lí học
• tâm sinh lí