cố hương

Vietnamese

Etymology

    Sino-Vietnamese word from 故鄉, composed of 故 (“old”) and 鄉 (“hometown”).

    Pronunciation

    • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ko˧˦ hɨəŋ˧˧]
    • (Huế) IPA(key): [kow˨˩˦ hɨəŋ˧˧]
    • (Saigon) IPA(key): [kow˦˥ hɨəŋ˧˧]

    Noun

    cố hương

    1. (literary) hometown; birthplace
      Synonyms: quê nhà, quê cũ
      • Li Bai, "Quiet Night Thought"; 1987 Vietnamese translation by Nam Trân
        Đầu giường ánh trăng rọi,
        Mặt đất như phủ sương.
        Ngẩng đầu nhìn trăng sáng,
        Cúi đầu nhớ cố hương.
        Before my bed shines the bright moon
        Meseems there's frost on the ground
        Lifting my head, I watch the bright moon,
        Lowering my head, I miss my hometown.
      • Matsuo Bashō's haiku, translated by Đoàn Lê Giang:
        Đất khách mười mùa sương
        về thăm quê ngoảnh lại
        Ê-đô là cố hương.
        autumn, ten years:
        now I point to Edo
        as the old home.
        (literally, “It was the strange land for ten misty years
        but when I came back home
        it was Edo that felt like my old home.        ”)
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