Some human experiences are so universal they find a home in cultural habits regardless of language or region — bless you; touch wood; my condolences; apologies.
The more interesting question is how language adapts these seemingly universal concepts to reflect its surrounding context, and what the etymology of these phrases reveals about the values and preoccupations of a culture.
Here are four Vietnamese expressions for everyday experiences, linguistically explained.
“Cơm muối” – Bless you
Despite boasting arguably some of the loudest sneezes of southeast Asia, it’s not a common reflex for people in Vietnam to “bless you” so that your spirit might return to your body after being expelled during a sneeze, as common Western superstition required throughout its various eras of bubonic plague.
However, while the habit isn’t common in southern Vietnam, a similar concept exists in northern Vietnam to express the sentiment.
“Cơm muối” — literally “rice and salt” — was a mixture typically used by shamans to ward off evil spirits in traditional Vietnamese belief.
Saying the phrase in response to a child sneezing was thus seen as a way to expel the evil which was believed to be making an attempt to possess the child. More broadly, its usage in the north expresses a desire to prevent people from falling sick.
“Trộm vía” – Touch wood; to avoid “jinxing” something
The Vietnamese equivalent of the common folkloric practice of knocking on wood to ward off bad luck about a subject just mentioned takes shape in the phrase “trộm vía”. Literally: to steal (trộm) part of a person’s spirit or consciousness (vía).
Some explanations point to “vía” as a component of one’s life force, which both helps in sustaining a person’s health and happiness — but is also susceptible to capture by lingering bad spirits.
The phrase is a product of Vietnam’s trademark cautious optimism: offering overflowing praise is rife to earn you a scolding from elders afraid of spoiling a child, or manifesting an errant spirit’s ill-intent into reality.
In Vietnamese usage, the expression can be used in varied contexts:
- At the end of a statement to protect existing good fortune;
- At the end of a statement to protect a future desire from being tainted;
- At the start of a compliment for children as a precaution against bad luck from spirits listening in and actioning harm or “jinxing” the compliment.
Examples to demonstrate the above:
- “I haven’t caught a cold all year, trộm vía.”
- “I’ve prepared as best I can for this exam so nothing can go wrong, trộm vía!”
- “Trộm vía, your baby is so cute!”
“Chia buồn” – Condolences
The Vietnamese expression for sharing condolences or sympathy for a person’s loss is a simple but heartfelt one. The compound expression comprises two terms: “to share” (chia) “sadness” (buồn).
In it, we see a depiction of Eastern collectivist cultures which prioritize community and sharing — of meals, of joys, of sorrows, of pains and feelings. Kavi Vu says it best:
Thông cảm – Please be understanding (in place of “sorry”)
If you’ve ever opened a Vietnamese textbook or attempted to learn a bit of the language, you may have encountered the word “xin lỗi” for “sorry”. But cultural insight lies in the realization that Vietnamese people don’t apologize as often — or in the same way — that Western cultures do.
That’s because apologies are reserved for situations in which fault is serious enough to necessitate responsibility-taking. The etymology of the word reveals insight into why that might be the case: to “xin lỗi” is to literally “ask or beg for” (xin) “fault” (lỗi).
The more commonly used day-to-day expression is the phrase “thông cảm” — for “feeling” (cảm) to “flow through”, unimpeded (thông).
These days, Vietnamese people have adopted the English “sorry” for all the small and many minor inconveniences which typify apology in the West: accidentally bumping into a stranger in the street; seeking passage to slip through a crowd; jostling a little too close to a fellow passenger on public transport.
But those who have stayed a little longer in Vietnam will notice the quiet plead and the inherent apology buried in a call for understanding and sympathy:
“Chị thông cảm giúp em đi,” says the market vendor to a buyer whose favorite stock has sold out for the day. Translated: “Please be understanding, sister.”