Is 'sudden' equivalent to something sky-high?

Why does this shift in meaning occur? Well, " suddenly " is a polysemous word; its interpretation depends on the social context and the era.

The character "Du" (突) first appeared in the oracle bone script of the Shang Dynasty, consisting of two parts: the upper part is the character for " cave" (穴), and the lower part is the character for "dog" (犬). The ancient form of "Du" resembled a dog rushing out of a cave; its original meaning was to rush out very quickly ( Records of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Records, Annals of Emperor Wu ). This meaning was recorded in the Shuowen Jiezi: "Du, the dog temporarily comes out of the cave."

Later, the word " đột " (suddenly/unexpectedly) expanded its meaning to include "attack," "insult," "rapidly," and especially "a situation that changes quickly and unexpectedly"...

Ngột (兀) is a character that first appeared in the oracle bone script and bronze inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. Its original meaning was "human head." The head is the highest point of the human body, therefore Ngột also means towering and protruding.

Besides, "ngọt" is also used to refer to "tall and prominent appearance" (Preface to the Nam Duong Cong Tap by Luu Chieu Lan); "independence" ( Tram Luon by Uc Dat Phu); "a confused and ignorant gaze" ( Du Thien Thai Son Phu by Ton Chuoc) or "rest" ( Van Phu by Luc Co)...

The compound word " suddenly " (突兀) was first seen in Mu Hua's poem " Hai Fu" from the Western Jin Dynasty. This word has many meanings, such as "outstanding" ( Shishuo Xin Yu, Pin Zao ) or "strange, different" ( Mo Ji of Wang Zhi, Song Dynasty).

During the Tang Dynasty, "suddenly" was also a word used to describe terrain that was "towering and steep" (Du Fu 's "Mao Wu Wei Qiu Feng Suo Po Ge ") or "an event that happened unexpectedly" (Han Yu's "Song Zeng Cheng Guan ").

"Suddenly" can also be a word describing appearance, for example, "a straight, upright sitting posture" (Du Fu's "Bai Ai Shi ") or "a tall and imposing appearance" (Lu Zhaolin's "Preface to Nan Yang Gong Ji ").

From the Ming and Qing dynasties onwards, other meanings suddenly emerged, such as a sudden shift in the plot of a novel.

In general, from the 10th century onwards, Chinese characters gradually became more widespread in our country. The word "suddenly " (突兀) still expresses the meanings mentioned above. However, in recent centuries, this word has only retained a few meanings:

- " Suddenly " (突兀) means "awkward, unfamiliar: Arriving suddenly" ( Dai Nam Quoc Am Tu Vi by Huynh-Tinh Paulus Cua, 1895, p. 719).

- " Suddenly " means "suddenly, unexpectedly: to arise suddenly, to happen suddenly" ( Vietnamese Dictionary by Le Van Duc, edited by Le Ngoc Tru, volume 1, 1970, p. 490).

- " Suddenly " means "very unexpectedly, without any warning signs: The weather suddenly turns cold" ( Vietnamese Dictionary , op. cit., p. 370).

Thus, in Vietnamese, "suddenly" is synonymous with two words: "suddenly" and "unexpectedly ".

1. Suddenly , written in Nôm script as 声灵 and 盛令, has appeared in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's story Dương Từ-Hà Mậu ( Suddenly, there was a sudden pregnancy ) or in Nhị độ mai diễn ca ( Suddenly, the joy at the table was lost ).

2. The word "bất ngờ" (surprise), a combination of two words: "bất" (Chinese) and "ngộ" (Vietnamese), appeared at least from the beginning of the 20th century, for example in Nguyen Lan's book * Le Petit Campagnard * (1925), translated by Alfred Bouchet (p. 67) or in the sentence "who can avoid the surprises of life?" (Lan Khai's page , Tan Van Publishing House, 1939).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dot-ngot-la-cao-chot-vot-185250822215348278.htm