trần gian

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 塵間, composed of 塵 (“dust; filth”) and 間 (“realm; domain”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕən˨˩ zaːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈəŋ˦˩ jaːŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʈəŋ˨˩ jaːŋ˧˧]

Noun

trần gian

1. (literary) the world of mortals, as opposed to the world of the dead underneath and the world of the gods above

   Synonyms: trần thế, cõi đời, cõi trần, hạ giới

   địa ngục trần gian ― hell on earth

   • 1921, Tản Đà, Hầu Trời [Serving the Heavenly Lord]:

     - “Bẩm Trời, cảnh con thực nghèo khó / Trần gian thước đất cũng không có

     - My Lord, I'm living in poverty / I barely have any land in the mortal realm

See also

• bụi trần (“all the filth of the mortal world”)
• hồng trần (“the lust of humanity”)
• cát bụi (“sand and dust; part of the Earth”)
• thế gian (“the world”)
• nhân gian (“the human world”)
• địa ngục (“hell”)
• thiên giới (“the heavenly world”)