hồi

Sino-Vietnamese word from 回 (“to return; occurrence classifier; chapter classifier”).

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [hoj˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [hoj˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [hoj˨˩]

hồi

1. a time, espcially in the past

   hồi trước

   there was a time when; back when

   hồi nhỏ/trẻ

   back when I/he/she/we/they was/were (a) child(ren)/young

   • 2005, Nguyễn Ngọc Tư, "Biển người mênh mông" (in Cánh đồng bất tận), Trẻ publishing house

     Ông kể, hồi trẻ, ông toàn sống trên sông, ông có chiếc ghe, hai vợ chồng lang thang xứ nầy xứ nọ.

     He told that, in his youth, he always lived on the river; he had a junk and he and his wife would roam from one place to the other.

2. (singular) a relatively long occurrence of an action

   Họ nói chuyện một hồi rồi về.

   They talked for a while, then left.

   Lão nói một thôi một hồi không nghỉ.

   He just kept going on and on forever.

3. (only in fixed expression) an instance of sustained sound, usually of a bell or drum

   hồi trống

   a drum roll

4. (fiction) Synonym of chương (“chapter”)
5. (theater) an act

hồi

1. (literary) to be back in good shape or a calm and collected state of consciousness