lòng lang dạ sói
Vietnamese
Etymology
Both lòng lang and dạ sói mean “wolf’s heart”, or more literally, “wolf’s intestines, wolf’s stomach”, and they are combined into a reduplication for emphasis, which is found in some Vietnamese fossil compounds (see also rừng rú, xe cộ, etc.). There are also literary phrases such as loài lang sói (“ruthless beasts”, literally “wolf kind”). lang (“wolf”) is from Middle Chinese 狼 (lang).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [lawŋ͡m˨˩ laːŋ˧˧ zaː˧˨ʔ sɔj˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [lawŋ͡m˦˩ laːŋ˧˧ jaː˨˩ʔ ʂɔj˨˩˦] ~ [lɔŋ˦˩ laːŋ˧˧ jaː˨˩ʔ sɔj˨˩˦]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [lawŋ͡m˨˩ laːŋ˧˧ jaː˨˩˨ ʂɔj˦˥] ~ [lawŋ͡m˨˩ laːŋ˧˧ jaː˨˩˨ sɔj˦˥]
Adjective
- (figurative) very evil
- Đồ lòng lang dạ sói
- You evil bastard!