vũ trụ

Sino-Vietnamese word from 宇宙, composed of 宇 (“eaves; space”) and 宙 (“beams; time”), from Literary Chinese 宇宙 (“eaves and beams; space and time; heaven and earth; the world”). Perhaps the idea was that eaves form an enclosure, a "space"; while beams are more linear and representative of time, although Literary Chinese 宙 was also used for "heaven" which is more "space" than "time". Compare thế giới.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [vu˦ˀ˥ t͡ɕu˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [vʊw˧˨ ʈʊw˨˩ʔ]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [vʊw˨˩˦ ʈʊw˨˩˨] ~ [jʊw˨˩˦ ʈʊw˨˩˨]

vũ trụ

1. the universe
2. outer space