nghĩa lí

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• nghĩa lý
• (Southern Vietnam, obsolete) ngãi lí; ngãi lý
• (Southern Vietnam, obsolete) ngãi lới

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 義理.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nghĩa lí

1. (philosophy, literary) meaning and principle; "the right way"
2. (colloquial, chiefly in the negative) meaning; sense

   Làm vậy chi vậy? Đúng là chả ra nghĩa lí gì sất.

   What did you do that for? It's utterly pointless/senseless.