thần

See also: than, thân, Thân, thận, and þan

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

a deity; a 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.’

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, inconsistency exists; for instance:

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 and in 1 Kings 12:28 as thần; yet אֱלֹהֶיךָ in Nehemiah 9:18 as Thiên Chúa.

Some Protestant translations use uncapitalized thần or capitalized Thần to translate words denoting spirits; namely:

Hebrew ר֣וּחַ (rūaḥ), for examples: Genesis 1:2, Psalm 143:10, etc.
Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma), for examples: John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 15:45, etc.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 臣.

Noun

thần

(only in compounds, historical) official, statesman, minister (in feudal society)
(only in compounds, historical) subject

Derived terms

Pronoun

thần

(archaic, to royalty) I/me, your royal/imperial servant

Derived terms