tâm lí

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

tâm lý

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 心理, composed of 心 (“heart; mind”) and 理 (“workings”), Japanese 心理 (shinri, “psychological”, literally “workings of the mind”). The Japanese term was also used to mean "intellectual" in contrast with 物理 (butsuri, vật lí, “naturalist; physical”, literally “workings of things”), as a type of discipline that concerned theology, philosophy, politics and law. Compare sinh lí (“physiology”, literally “workings of life”) and địa lí (“geography”, literally “workings of the earth”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [təm˧˧ li˧˦]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [təm˧˧ lɪj˨˩˦]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [təm˧˧ lɪj˦˥]

Noun

tâm lí

psyche, especially concerns, hang-ups or baggage
tâm lí người tiêu dùng
consumers' concerns

Adjective