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
- what the heck?; for goodness' sake!; dear Lord!
Ancestry of “trời ơi”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | trời | the sky; weather; a generic deification of the... |
| 2 | Proto-Vietic | b-ləːj | sky |
| 3 | Proto-Mon-Khmer | briiʔ | sky; rain; forest |