Definition

1. Noun:
   • The underworld, the netherworld, the afterlife: "Hoàng tuyền" refers to the realm of the dead in Vietnamese folk belief and mythology, a place where souls go after death.
   • The Yellow Springs: This is a direct, poetic translation. It originates from ancient Chinese mythology, where it was believed a yellow river (the Yellow Springs) separated the world of the living from the world of the dead.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Sau khi chết, linh hồn sẽ xuống hoàng tuyền. (After death, the soul will descend to the netherworld.)
  • Trong truyền thuyết, hoàng tuyền là một nơi tối tăm và lạnh lẽo. (In legends, the Yellow Springs is a dark and cold place.)
  • Anh ta thề sống chết có nhau, dù xuống hoàng tuyền cũng không chia lìa. (He swore to be together in life and death, even descending to the underworld would not part them.)

Advanced Usage

• "Xuống hoàng tuyền" / "Về nơi chín suối": To pass away, to die (euphemistic and literary).
  • Cụ ông ấy đã về nơi chín suối. (That old man has passed away to the nine springs [a synonym for the underworld].)
• "Dưới hoàng tuyền": In the underworld.
  • Người ta tin rằng dưới hoàng tuyền có Diêm Vương cai quản. (People believe that in the underworld, Yama is the ruler.)

Variants and Related Words

• Âm phủ (n): Hell, the underworld. Often used interchangeably with "hoàng tuyền" but can carry a stronger connotation of a punitive realm.
• Địa ngục (n): Hell. Specifically implies a place of punishment for sins.
• Cõi âm (n): The netherworld, the spirit world. A more general term for the realm of the dead.
• Suối vàng (n): A direct synonym for "hoàng tuyền," meaning "yellow stream" or "golden spring."

Synonyms

• The netherworld: The world of the dead.
• The afterlife: Life after death.
• Hades: The ancient Greek underworld (used in comparative contexts).
• The Styx: The river of the underworld in Greek mythology (used in comparative or literary contexts).

Related Phrases

• Đường xuống hoàng tuyền: The road/path to the underworld.
  • Tội ác của hắn đã mở ra con đường xuống hoàng tuyền. (His crimes have opened the path to the netherworld.)

Related Idioms

• Xuống suối vàng: To die (euphemistic).
  • Ông ấy đã xuống suối vàng được ba năm. (He has been dead for three years.)
• Chín suối mỉm cười: (To smile in the nine springs) To be able to rest in peace after death, often because a wish was fulfilled by the living.
  • Con cái thành đạt, cha mẹ dưới chín suối cũng mỉm cười. (With successful children, the parents in the underworld can also smile.)

1. Styx, hades, nether world