hấp hối

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 吸 (“to breath in, to inhale”) and 悔 (“to repent, to regret”), probably alluding to the image of a person gasping for air while muttering their last words. Attested in the Dictionarium Anamitico-Latinum (1838).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [həp̚˧˦ hoj˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [həp̚˦˧˥ hoj˨˩˦]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [həp̚˦˥ hoj˦˥]

Verb

hấp hối

to be on one's deathbed; to be dying