trúc phu nhân

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 竹夫人, composed of 竹 (“bamboo”) and 夫人 (“lady”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʊwk͡p̚˧˦ fu˧˧ ɲən˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈʊwk͡p̚˦˧˥ fʊw˧˧ ɲəŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʈʊwk͡p̚˦˥ fʊw˧˧ ɲəŋ˧˧]

Noun

trúc phu nhân

1. bamboo wife

Usage notes

• This term is only used as a modern stand-in for its Chinese and Sino-Xenic equivalents in recent research papers and translations; it was never in use in actual Vietnamese vernacular texts in history. There is a Chinese poem by Trần Nhân Tông titled 竹奴銘, where the term 竹奴 (trúc nô) apparently referred to the bamboo wife. Since this is a poem in Chinese, it is not clear if the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the same term was used in Vietnamese.