phù thuỷ

See also: phù thủy

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• phù thủy

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 符水 (“charmed water”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [fu˨˩ tʰwi˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [fʊw˦˩ tʰwɪj˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [fʊw˨˩ tʰ⁽ʷ⁾ɪj˨˩˦]

Noun

phù thuỷ

1. any mythical or folkloric creature who practices magic or witchcraft; a witch, warlock, wizard, charmer, enchanter, magician, etc.

   mụ phù thuỷ

   a wicked witch

   thầy phù thuỷ

   a wizard

   Trường Phù thủy và Pháp sư Hogwarts

   Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Usage notes

• Fantasy is a contemporary genre in Vietnamese literature, imported from the West, with a lack of a diverse vocabulary. Phù thuỷ and pháp sư are used for human magicians. chú lùn for short humanoid creatures, tiên for fair elvish creatures, and quỷ for monstrous creatures.
• Some translators consciously use phù thuỷ for female witches, and pháp sư for male wizards. The translator of the Harry Potter series used this approach.