pháp sư

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 法師, composed of 法 (“Buddhist law; dharma”) and 師 (“master”), from Literary Chinese 法師 (fǎshī), influenced by pháp thuật (“magic”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [faːp̚˧˦ sɨ˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [faːp̚˦˧˥ ʂɨ˧˧] ~ [faːp̚˦˧˥ sɨ˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [faːp̚˦˥ ʂɨ˧˧] ~ [faːp̚˦˥ sɨ˧˧]

Noun

(Buddhism) a type of variously defined priest
(occult, fantasy) a wizard; a magician

Usage notes

Fantasy is a contemporary genre in Vietnamese literature, imported from the West, with a lack of a diverse vocabulary. Pháp sư and phù thuỷ are used for human magicians. Chú lùn for short humanoid creatures, tiên for fair elvish creatures, and quỷ for monstrous creatures.
Some translators consciously use pháp sư for male wizards, and phù thuỷ for female witches. The translator of the Harry Potter series used this approach.

See also

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