con trai con đứa
what kind of boy that...
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Where will you be? Anywhere Hà Nội & the NorthHuế / Đà Nẵng & the CenterSài Gòn & the SouthOnline slang Bắc ↔ Nam words
con trâu là đầu cơ nghiệp
having a water buffalo allows one to start a business
con tạo xoay vần
The Creator's wheel keeps turning — fortune revolves; no one stays up or down for good.
con vua thì lại làm vua Con sải ở chùa thì quét lá đa
The king's child becomes king; the temple novice's child sweeps banyan leaves — station inherited, verse-form; the twin of the mandarin version.
con ông cháu cha
child or grandchild of an important person, a nepo baby
con ơi nhớ lấy câu này, cướp đêm là giặc, cướp ngày là quan
Child, remember this line: night robbers are bandits; day robbers are officials — the sharpest protest verse in the language.
cua thâm càng, nàng thâm môi
Dark-clawed crab, dark-lipped woman — the folk-reader's paired warnings.
cua tám cẳng
The crab has eight legs — and still walks sideways; equipment isn't direction.
cung chúc tân xuân
(noun) words of wishes and celebration for a wonderful new year
cung hỉ phát tài
May you have a prosperous New Year!
cà hẩy
The cà hẩy — the hip-thrust shimmy dance move that swept Vietnamese TikTok.
cà nhính
Cà nhính — gleeful, wriggling excitement; delight you can't sit still through.
cà răng múc mắt
File his teeth and scoop his eyes — rage at a debtor who has nothing; fury with nowhere to collect.
cà-cuống chết đến đít còn cay
The water-bug stays pungent to the very end — character's last drop is the same flavor as its first.
càng quen càng lèn cho đau
The closer the acquaintance, the harder the squeeze — familiarity licenses the heaviest demands.
càng đông càng vui
Close to the English saying: “The more, the merrier.”.
cành vàng lá ngọc
Golden boughs and jade leaves — born to nobility; a pampered child of privilege.
cày đồng đang buổi ban trưa, mồ hôi thánh thót như mưa ruộng cày, ai ơi bưng bát cơm đầy. Dẻo thơm một hạt đắng cay muôn phần
Plowing the field at high noon, sweat dripping like rain onto the furrows — whoever lifts a full bowl, remember: one fragrant grain, a world of bitterness — the fullest form of the farmer's-toil verse.
cá bể chim ngàn
Sea fish and mountain birds — the far-flung and untamable; those the net was never made for.
cá khô có trứng
Dried fish with roe — the impossible windfall; luck found where none could be.
cá không gặp nước
A fish that never met water — a talent stranded short of its element.
cá không ăn muối cá ươn, con không nghe mẹ trăm đường con hư
Fish that refuses salt spoils; a child that refuses its mother spoils a hundred ways — guidance rejected is ruin chosen.
cá lớn nuốt cá bé
survival of the fittest; big fish eat little fish
cá mè một lứa
birds of a feather flock together
cá mè một lứa, cá đuối tầy đầu
Silver carp, all one spawning — peas in a pod, and none the better pea.
cá sẩy cá lớn
The escaped fish is always the big one — what got away grows in the telling.
cá sống về nước
Fish live by water — every creature's fortune is its element.
cá tươi thì xem lấy mang, người khôn xem lấy hai hàng tóc mai
Fresh fish shows in the gills, a person's quality in the temples — inspection points for markets and matchmakers.
các hữu sở trường
Each has their strong suit — everyone owns some corner of excellence.
các kiểu
(phrase) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see các, kiểu.
cách núi ngăn sông
Mountains apart and rivers between — separated by distances hard to cross.
cái cò lặn lội bờ ao Hỡi cô yếm đào lấy chú tôi chăng chú tôi hay tửu hay tăm Hay nước chè đặc, hay nằm ngủ trưa Ngày thì ước những ngày mưa Đêm thì ước những đêm thừa trống canh
The stork wades the pond bank — o girl in the peach bodice, will you marry my uncle? He's fond of spirits and rice wine, thick tea and long naps; by day he wishes for rain-days, by night for one more watch of sleep — the great satirical matchmaking verse.
cái gọi là
that which is called...
cái khó ló cái khôn
Close to the English saying: “Adversity is the mother of wisdom.”.
cái kim trong bọc sẽ có ngày lòi ra
A needle in a cloth bundle will work its way out — no secret stays hidden forever.
cái lồn gì thế?
the fuck is/was that?
cái này là gì
what is this?
cái nết đánh chết cái đẹp
Close to the English saying: “Handsome is as handsome does.”.
cái răng cái tóc là góc con người
teeth and head hair are part and parcel of a person's appearance; teeth and head hair are the most important when it comes to appearance;
cái răng, cái tóc là gốc con người
Teeth and hair are the root of a person — grooming as the first chapter of character.
cái rốn của vũ trụ
the quality of being egocentric as a hypothetical center of the universe
cái sảy nảy cái ung
A prickly-heat spot grows into an abscess — a small fault neglected becomes a disaster.
cái tôm có chật gì sông, cái lông có chật gì lỗ
Does the shrimp crowd the river — small presences burden no one; there is room.
cám treo, để heo nhịn đói
Bran hung high while the pig goes hungry — provisions in plain sight, withheld.
cám ơn rất nhiều
thank you very much
cánh tay phải
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cánh tay, phải.
cáo chết ba năm quay đầu về núi
a person always longs for home
cáo chết quay đầu về núi
The dying fox turns its head toward its mountain — every creature's last thought is home.
cáo mượn oai hùm
to use powerful connections to intimidate people
cát nhơn thiên tướng
Heaven escorts the blessed — the fortunate travel under standing protection.
câm như cá
Mute as a fish — not saying a single word.
câm như hến
Mute as a mussel — clamped shut past all prying.
cân đong đo đếm
Weighing, measuring, counting every last bit — pettily calculating in all one's dealings.
câu lạc bộ chạy bộ
running club
cây cao bóng cả
A tall tree casts broad shade — the elder whose shelter covers everyone near.
cây cao thì gió càng lay, càng cao danh vọng càng đầy gian nan
The taller the tree, the harder the wind rocks it — the higher the fame, the fuller the hardship.
cây có cội nước có nguồn
A tree has its roots, water its source — no one exists without the ancestors behind them.
cây khô xuống nước cũng khô Phận nghèo đi đến nơi mô cũng nghèo
Dry wood stays dry even in water — a poor fate arrives poor wherever it travels.
cây không trồng không tiếc, con không đẻ không thương
Plant no tree and you'll grieve none; bear no child and you'll love none — care is the price and the proof of attachment.
cây muốn lăng, mà gió chẳng đừng
The tree would rest but the wind won't cease — peace is impossible while the other side keeps blowing.