Definition

1. Noun:
   • The Underworld / Hades: The subterranean realm of the dead in traditional Vietnamese cosmology and folk belief, often conceived as a dark, cavernous world beneath the earth where souls reside after death.
   • Hell / The Netherworld: A place of judgment and punishment for the wicked, ruled over by deities like King Yama (Diêm Vương), analogous to the concept of Hell in other religious traditions.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Theo truyền thuyết, linh hồn người chết sẽ xuống địa phủ. (According to legend, the souls of the dead descend to the underworld.)
  • Những kẻ ác độc bị trừng phạt trong địa phủ. (The wicked are punished in hell.)

Advanced Usage

• "cửa địa phủ": the gates of hell/the underworld.
  • Hắn ta dường như đã bước qua cửa địa phủ. (He seemed to have stepped through the gates of hell.)

Variants and Related Words

• Âm phủ (n): A more common synonym for the underworld or hell in Vietnamese folklore.

  • Âm phủ thường được mô tả là một nơi tối tăm. (The netherworld is often described as a dark place.)

• Địa ngục (n): Hell; emphasizes a place of torment and suffering, often with a stronger Buddhist or Christian connotation than địa phủ.

  • Tội lỗi của hắn sẽ đưa hắn xuống địa ngục. (His sins will send him to hell.)

Synonyms

• The Underworld: The subterranean abode of the dead.
• Hades: The Greek mythological underworld; used as a cultural analogue.
• The Netherworld: The world of the dead.
• Hell: A place of punishment after death.

Related Idioms

• Xuống địa phủ: to go to hell/to die (figuratively).

  • Lời nguyền đó sẽ khiến hắn xuống địa phủ. (That curse will send him to hell.)

• Vua địa phủ: King of the Underworld (referring to King Yama or a similar ruler).

  • Vua địa phủ phán xét linh hồn người chết. (The King of the Underworld judges the souls of the dead.)