Definition

1. Noun:
   • The netherworld, the underworld, the afterlife: "Chín suối" is a literary and somewhat archaic Vietnamese term referring to the realm of the dead, the world after death. It is a euphemistic and poetic way to speak of death and the place one goes after dying.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người xưa tin rằng linh hồn sẽ về nơi chín suối. (The ancients believed that the soul would return to the netherworld.)
  • Ước nguyện của ông cụ đã thành, giờ có thể ngậm cười nơi chín suối. (The old man's wish came true; now he can rest in peace in the afterlife.)

Advanced Usage

• "Ngậm cười nơi chín suối": To die content, to rest in peace (literally: to smile in the netherworld).
  • Sau khi thấy con cháu thành đạt, bà cụ có thể ngậm cười nơi chín suối. (After seeing her children and grandchildren succeed, the old lady could rest in peace.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cửu tuyền (九泉): This is the Sino-Vietnamese origin of "chín suối," meaning "nine springs," another poetic term for the underworld.
• Suối vàng: A more common poetic synonym for "chín suối," meaning "the golden stream."
• Âm phủ: The underworld, hell (more directly associated with the Buddhist/folk religious concept of the underworld court).
• Địa ngục: Hell (carries a stronger connotation of punishment).

Synonyms

• Thế giới bên kia: The other world.
• Cõi âm: The nether realm.

Related Idioms

• Xuống suối vàng / Về nơi chín suối: To pass away, to die (euphemistically).
  • Cụ ông ấy đã về nơi chín suối từ năm ngoái. (That old gentleman passed away last year.)

1. Nether regions, hades