bất thình lình

Vietnamese

Etymology

bất +‎ thình lình (“suddenly”), the former is Sino-Vietnamese from 不 (“not”), but has been generalised here to become an emphatic prefix for describing unforeseen, unexpected action. Compare bất chợt, bất đồ, bất giác, bất ngờ, bất thần, bất tử, etc.

Pronunciation
  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓət̚˧˦ tʰïŋ˨˩ lïŋ˨˩]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓək̚˦˧˥ tʰɨn˦˩ lɨn˦˩]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɓək̚˦˥ tʰɨn˨˩ lɨn˨˩]

Adverb

bất thình lình

  1. suddenly; all of a sudden (more emphatic than thình lình)
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