lạc loài

Vietnamese

Etymology

lạc (“to be lost”) +‎ loài (“kind”), literally “to be lost and separated from your own kind”.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laːk̚˧˨ʔ lwaːj˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laːk̚˨˩ʔ lwaːj˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [laːk̚˨˩˨ l⁽ʷ⁾aːj˨˩]

Adjective

lạc loài

1. (of a person or their life) completely lonesome and with nobody to rely on

See also

• lạc lõng