huyện

See also: huyen and huyền

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 縣.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [hwiən˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [hwiəŋ˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [wiəŋ˨˩˨]

Noun

huyện

1. district; suburban district

   xuống huyện

   to go the suburban districts

   (literally, “to "go down" to the (less developed) suburban districts”)

Usage notes

Unlike its historical sense in Vietnamese or its modern sense in Chinese and Japanese which refers to one of the highest levels of administrative division, huyện now refers to one of the lowest (under a tỉnh (“province”) along with tỉnh lị, thành phố trực thuộc tỉnh (“provincial capital”); province-level cities do not consist of these, but quận (“district”) instead). The term huyện has the connotation of stereotypical underdevelopment compared to provincial capitals, especially when it comes to education.