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 a Sino-Vietnamese word from 狼.

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

lòng lang dạ sói

1. (figurative) very evil

   Đồ lòng lang dạ sói

   You evil bastard!