lí sự

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• lý sự

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 理事, Japanese 理事 (“director”), Literary Chinese 理事 (lǐshì, “to arrange or manage matters”). The original Chinese compound was adapted from "to arrange" to "arranger", or "director", a person who arranges things. The Vietnamese usage, on the other hand, seems to rely on a different sense of Chinese 理 (lǐ), which is "reason" rather than "to arrange".

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [li˧˦ sɨ˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lɪj˨˩˦ ʂɨ˨˩ʔ] ~ [lɪj˨˩˦ sɨ˨˩ʔ]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [lɪj˦˥ ʂɨ˨˩˨] ~ [lɪj˦˥ sɨ˨˩˨]

Noun

lí sự

1. (derogatory) sophistry

   lí sự cùn ― bullcrap arguments

Verb

lí sự

1. (archaic) to arrange or manage matters
   • (Can we date this quote?), Trê cóc [The Catfish and the Toad]:

     Có công lặn suối trèo ghềnh,
     Tìm người lí sự hỏi tình sâu nông.

     Diving in rivers, climbing on rapids,
     Trying to find someone who can settle matters, to find a solution.

     (literally, “Doing the diligent work of diving in rivers, climbing on rapids,
     Looking for someone who can settle matters, to ask about the issue, deeply or shallowly.”)

2. (derogatory) to be sophistic