Where does “trời ơi” come from?

trời ơi (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese trời, from Proto-Vietic b-ləːj, from Proto-Mon-Khmer briiʔ — sky; rain; forest.

trời ơi (Vietnamese): what the heck?; for goodness' sake!; dear Lord!

Definitions

  1. what the heck?; for goodness' sake!; dear Lord!

Ancestry of “trời ơi”, step by step

trời ơi traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese trời

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrờithe sky; weather; a generic deification of the...
2Proto-Vieticb-ləːjsky
3Proto-Mon-Khmerbriiʔsky; rain; forest

via Vietnamese ơi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseơisuffixes to someone's name or kinship title, used...
2Proto-Vietick-ʔoːs—
3Proto-Mon-Khmerpʔusguava
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer briiʔ →Every word from Proto-Vietic b-ləːj →Every word from Vietnamese trời →