thần

See also: Appendix:Variations of "than"

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰən˨˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰəŋ˦˩]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [tʰəŋ˨˩]

Etymology 1

Sino-Vietnamese word from 神.

Noun

(classifier vị) thần

deity; god
- Psalm 82:6-7, 1925 Vietnamese translation by Phan Khôi et al.; 2021 English translation from the New Revised Standard Version updated edition
  Ta đã nói: Các ngươi là thần, Hết thảy đều là con trai của Đấng Chí cao. Dầu vậy, các ngươi sẽ chết như loài người, sa ngã như một quan trưởng.
  I say, ‘You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals and fall like any prince.’
(Protestantism) spirit
- 1 Kings 22:23, 2001 Vietnamese translation from New Vietnamese Bible version (Bản Dịch Mới); 2021 English translation from New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
  Thế thì vua có thấy không, Chúa đã đặt một thần nói dối trong miệng các tiên tri nầy của vua. Chúa đã định giáng họa cho vua đó.”
  So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:45, 1925 Vietnamese translation by Phan Khôi et al.; 2021 English translation from New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
  [Ấ]y vậy, có lời chép rằng: Người thứ nhứt là A-đam đã nên linh-hồn sống. A-đam sau hết là thần ban sự sống.
  Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Usage notes

The sole deity in Abrahamic religions is never referred to as *Thần, but as Chúa (literally “the Lord”) (or its variants and synonyms, like Thượng Đế); to illustrate, Psalm 82:1 – in original Hebrew: “אֱלֹהִים, נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת־אֵל; בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁפֹּט (’ĕlōhîm niṣāḇ ba-‘ăḏaṯ-’êl; bə-qereḇ ’ĕlōhîm yišpōṭ)” – is translated into Vietnamese by Phan Khôi et al. as “Đức Chúa Trời đứng trong hội Đức Chúa Trời; Ngài đoán xét giữa các thần”, where the first אֱלֹהִים (’ĕlōhîm) and the word אֵל (’êl) are translated as Đức Chúa Trời to denote the Abrahamic god yet the second אֱלֹהִים (’ĕlōhîm) is translated as thần to denote other gods.

Even so, translators differ on which deity any particular word in the original texts refers to, hence their different translations; for instances:

in the Catholic KPA translation by the Translating team of the Liturgy of the Hours, אֱלֹהֶיךָ (’ĕlōheḵā, “your God ~ your gods”) in Exodus 32:4 and in Nehemiah 9:18 is translated as thần; yet אֱלֹהֶיךָ in 1 Kings 12:28 as Thiên Chúa;
Catholic priest Nguyễn Thế Thuấn translated אֱלֹהֶיךָ in Exodus 32:4 ([1]) and in 1 Kings 12:28 ([2]) as thần; yet אֱלֹהֶיךָ in Nehemiah 9:18 ([3]) as Thiên Chúa.

Not all Protestant translators translate words denoting spirits (including the Holy Spirit) - namely, Biblical Hebrew ר֣וּחַ (rūaḥ) and Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma) - as uncapitalized thần or capitalized Thần, compare different translations of Genesis 1:2, 1 Kings 22:23, Psalm 143:10, John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 15:45, etc.

Romanization

thần

Sino-Vietnamese reading of 神

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 臣.

Pronoun

thần

(historical, to royalty) I/me (used by a mandarin/officer towards the monarch)

Romanization

thần

Sino-Vietnamese reading of 臣

Derived terms