tự sửa sang nhà cửa
to do DIY home improvements
Tiếng Việt · Sài Gòn & the South 1936
All languages English Tiếng Việt
Where will you be? Anywhere Hà Nội & the NorthHuế / Đà Nẵng & the CenterSài Gòn & the SouthOnline slang Bắc ↔ Nam words
Sayings you’ll hear in the South — distinctly Southern usage first, then nationwide staples.
tự thân vận động
to do things by oneself; to stand on one's own two feet
tự tung tự tác
to do as one pleases, to be impetuous
v/v
initialism of về việc (“on the matter of”)
vcl
initialism of vãi cả lồn
việc gì làm được hôm nay chớ để ngày mai
Make hay while the sun shines.
việc người thì sáng, việc mình thi quáng
Men are blind in their own cause.
vl
initialism of vãi lồn
vong ân bội nghĩa
to forget and deny the favors of one's benefactor; to betray one's kindness
vung tay quá trán
to overdo something, especially to overspend or to squander
vuốt râu hùm
to do something extremely dangerous
vx
Texting shortcut for “vẫn” — still. “vx ổn” = still fine.
vào sinh ra tử
to be involved in long, dangerous, life-or-death missions, especially military ones
vân vân mây mây
synonym of vân vân và mây mây
vân vân và mây mây
and so on and so forth; et cetera
vé nguyên giá, vé nửa giá
full-fare ticket and half-fare ticket
vì sao
(adverb) why
vò đầu bứt tai
to not know how to deal with a complicated problem or affair
vô sản toàn thế giới, đoàn kết lại
Workers of the world, unite!
vô sản tất cả các nước, đoàn kết lại
Workers of the world, unite!
vô thưởng vô phạt
inconsequential; meaningless
vạch xuất phát và vạch đích
starting line and finish line
vạn sự khởi đầu nan
It is the first step that counts.
vạn sự như ý
May you have all that you desire!
vận động viên điền kinh
track-and-field athlete
vật đổi sao dời
everything changes
vắng mợ chợ vẫn đông
no-one is indispensable, nobody is so important that others cannot do without
vắng như chùa Bà Đanh
completely desolate, devoid of people's visitations
vắt chân chữ ngũ
Used to indicate the state of being comfortably confident, of one's legs in a shape of the letter 五: unconstrained
vỏ quýt dày có móng tay nhọn
it doesn't matter how smart or cunning you are, there's always someone else better to take you down
vụng chèo khéo chống
A poor workman blames his tools.
vừa ăn cướp vừa la làng
to burglarize while crying for help
vừa đánh trống vừa ăn cướp
to beat the drum (as in, sound the burglar alarm) while burglarizing
xa mặt cách lòng
Absence weakens affection — when people no longer see each other, their hearts drift apart.
xem tivi hoặc xem phim
watching TV or films
xem việc biết người
Close to the English saying: “A workman is known by his chips.”.
xl
Texting shortcut for “xin lỗi” — sorry.
xong phim
the movie has ended
xu cà na
Unlucky; doomed-day energy — “xu” from xui (unlucky) plus a fruity flourish.
xuống hố
synonym of xuống lỗ (“to die”)
xát muối vào vết thương
to add insult to injury
xướng ca vô loài
singers and (more generally) musicians are immoral
xịt keo
Frozen in place — so stunned you’re hairspray-set where you stand.
xỏ lá ba que
synonym of ba que xỏ lá
ykr
Texting shortcut for “ý kiến riêng” — just my personal opinion (IMO).
yêu nhiều thì ốm, ôm nhiều thì yếu
love a lot and you will get sick, hug a lot and you will get weak (alluding to STD and impotence due to overindulgence)
ác cái là
the risk is, the difficulty is (therefore unable to do the aforementioned thing)
ác giả ác báo
what goes around comes around; you reap what you sow; as you sow, so shall you reap.
ác một cái là
synonym of ác cái là
ác nhân sát đức
to act cruelly, brutally, without conscience
ác như hùm
extremely cruel and brutal
ái nam ái nữ
having an intersex genitalia or being intersex in general
án binh bất động
to temporarily stand down one's army in order to wait and see how things develop
âm cực dương hồi
At the end of yin, yang returns.
âm thịnh dương suy
having more females than males
ét ô ét
“S.O.S!” — mock distress call for funny emergencies.
ôm cây đợi thỏ
to be conservative; to resist change and innovation; to stick to old principles
ôm rơm rặm bụng
to take on unnecessary burden; to bring trouble upon oneself
ôn cố tri tân
One should be able to derive new understanding while revising what one has learned.
ôn, lương, cung, kiệm, nhượng
Be cordial, kind, courteous, modest, and deferential.
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