lạ gì

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

lạ chi

Etymology

lạ (“strange; weird”) +‎ gì (“what; not at all”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laː˧˨ʔ zi˨˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [laː˨˩ʔ jɪj˦˩]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [laː˨˩˨ jɪj˨˩]

Phrase

whatever being discussed about is not strange or unfamiliar; I'm not unfamiliar with the fact that; everyone knows that
Thằng đó thì lạ gì! ― That's so him! / That's so typical of him!

Tao chả lạ gì ba cái vụ này. ― I see cases like this every day.
- 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)‎^[1], published 1866, lines 5–6:
  𨔍(Lạ)之(gì)彼(bỉ)嗇(sắc)斯(tư)豊(phong)
  𡗶(Trời)撑(xanh)涓(quen)貝(với)𦟐(má)紅(hồng)打(đánh)㭴(ghen)
  It’s not strange that beauty may beget misery.
  The jealous gods tend to heap spites on rosy-cheeked beauties.