sinh lí

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

sinh lý

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 生理, composed of 生 (“life”) and 理 (“workings”). Compare địa lí (“geography”, literally “workings of the earth”), vật lí (“physics”, literally “workings of things”) and tâm lí (“psychology”, literally “workings of the mind”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [sïŋ˧˧ li˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʂɨn˧˧ lɪj˨˩˦] ~ [sɨn˧˧ lɪj˨˩˦]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʂɨn˧˧ lɪj˦˥] ~ [sɨn˧˧ lɪj˦˥]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file)

Noun

sinh lí

physiology
(medicine) libido (sexual urges or drives)
sinh lí yếu
low sex drive

yếu sinh lí
to have low libido; (humorous, especially of a male human) to be physically weak

Adjective