thần kinh

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 神經, composed of 神 (“divine; spiritual; mental”) and 經 (“scripture; qi meridian/channel/vessel”), from Japanese 神経 (shinkei), used as a calque of Dutch zenuw. In traditional Chinese medicine, the meridian system circulates qi, and "divine qi" is the specific qi that governs the mind. Earlier attestations in Literary Chinese, particularly in the 後漢書·方術傳序 (“Book of the Later Han: Preface to the Legend of Magic”), were unrelated, not a blend of anything, and literally meant "divine/sacred scripture".

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰən˨˩ kïŋ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰəŋ˦˩ kɨn˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tʰəŋ˨˩ kɨn˧˧]

Noun

thần kinh

(anatomy) nerve
(colloquial) Synonym of tâm thần (“mental disorder”)

Derived terms

mạng thần kinh

Adjective

thần kinh

(medicine) mental or nervous
(informal) crazy; nuts
Thần kinh à?
Are you out of your mind?

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