Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 閻王星, composed of 閻王 (“Yang Wang”) and 星 (“star”), from Chinese 閻王星; a "calque" of Japanese 冥王星 ‎(Meiōsei, Minh Vương tinh), coined by replacing the rather obscure 冥王 ‎(Meiō, Minh Vương, “Netherking”, i.e. Pluto) with the better known 閻王 ‎(Diêm Vương).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [z̻iɜm˧˧ vɨ̞̠ɜŋ˧˧ tïŋ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jiɜm˧˧ vɨ̞̠ɜŋ˧˧ tɨ̞̠n˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [jiɜm˧˥ vʲɨ̞̠ɜŋ˧˥ tɨ̞̠n˧˥]