đồng cam cộng khổ
to share the joys and sorrows (usually emphasising the “sorrow” part)
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đồng sàng dị mộng
people live or work together but have very different interests or agendas
đồng thanh tương ứng
Like voices answer like — kindred natures find and echo one another.
đồng thanh tương ứng đồng khí tương cầu
Like voices echo each other, like spirits seek each other — kindred natures inevitably find one another; the classical (Sino-Vietnamese) ancestor of "birds of a feather flock together".
đồng thinh tương ướng, đồng khí tương cầu
Like voices answer, like spirits seek — resonance assembles its own fellowship.
đồng Tháp Mười cò bay thẳng cánh Nước Tháp Mười lóng lánh cá tôm
Over Tháp Mười the storks fly straight-winged; its waters glitter with fish and shrimp — the Mekong marshland's plenty.
đồng thực đồng thọ
Eat together, answer together — those who shared the spoils share the sentence.
đồng tiền bát gạo
The coin and the bowl of rice — the hard-earned money and goods a thing costs.
đồng tiền liền khúc ruột
The coin is welded to the gut — money parts from its owner like a length of intestine.
đồng tử đồng sanh
Die together, live together — the oath at friendship's furthest edge.
đồng ác tương tế
The wicked aid the wicked — villainy runs a mutual-assistance society.
đồng Đăng có phố Kỳ Lừa, có nàng Tô Thị, có chùa Tam Thanh
Đồng Đăng has Kỳ Lừa street, the Lady Tô Thị, the Tam Thanh pagoda — the border town's three treasures in one breath.
đổ dầu vào lửa
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pour, oil, fire.
đổ thêm dầu vào lửa
to add insult to injury; literally "to add kerosene to fire"
đổi bát bồ-hôi lấy bát cơm
A bowl of sweat traded for a bowl of rice — the exchange rate of honest labor, one to one.
đổi chủ dịch nô
get a new master but still remain a slave
đổi trắng thay đen
Trading white for black — falsification at the primary-color level.
đổi được không
"Can I exchange it?" — sizes, colors, wrong orders; pair with the receipt and patience.
độc cô cầu bại
The lone invincible begging for defeat — so unbeatable that victory itself is lonely.
độc khử độc
Poison expels poison — the venom cured by its own kind.
độc mộc nan chi đại hạ
One post cannot prop a great hall — a single strength, however true, fails under a communal roof.
độc thơ cầu lý
Read for the principle, not the penmanship — books are mined for meaning, not admired for strokes.
đội lái
The «driving crew» — a ring of big-money players who steer a stock’s price up or down in concert and harvest the retail investors who follow; Vietnam’s name for coordinated market manipulators.
đời người có một gang tay, ai hay ngủ ngày còn có nửa gang
A life is one hand-span; sleep your days and it's half — mortality measured against the sleeper.
đời rau diếp
Suing over a sweet potato — litigation smaller than its court fees.
đời xưa trả báo mà chầy, đời nay trả báo một giây nhãn tiền
Retribution once took generations; now it settles before your eyes — karma's clearing time has shortened.
đờn khảy tai trâu
Plucking a lute at a buffalo's ear — refinement performed for an audience without the organ for it.
đụ mẹ
synonym of địt mẹ (“fuck”)
đục nước béo cò
Muddy water fattens the stork — confusion is somebody's feeding ground.
đứa có tình rình đức có ý
The schemer watches the wary — guile studies exactly those who might see it coming.
đứa dại làm, đứa khôn ăn
The fool does the making, the clever do the eating — labor and its yield, filed under different names.
đứa ăn mắm đứa khát nước
One eats the fish-paste, another gets the thirst — the pleasure booked to one account, the bill to another.
đức rộng tài cao
Broad in virtue, high in talent — able and principled, and honored for both.
đức Thọ gạo trắng nước trong, ai về Đức Thọ thong dong con người
Đức Thọ of white rice and clear water — visit and the people put you at ease — a district's reputation in a line.
đứng bên ni đồng, ngó bên tê đồng, mênh mông bát ngát, đứng bên tê đồng, ngó bên ni đồng, bát ngát mênh mông. Thân em như chẽn lúa đòng đòng, phất phơ giữa ngọn nắng hồng ban mai
Standing on this bank gazing at that field, on that bank gazing at this — vast and shimmering; and I, a milk-ripe rice stalk swaying in the young pink sun — the most beloved portrait of girl and delta.
đứng mũi chịu sào
to take responsibility for the hardest part of a common task; to bear the brunt; to take the helm
đứng ngồi không yên
to be restless; to feel uneasy; to be on tenterhooks; to fidget
đứng như trời trồng
to be rooted to the spot; to be unable to move due to fear, surprise, or other strong emotions.
đứng núi này trông núi kia
synonym of đứng núi này trông núi nọ
đứng núi này trông núi nọ
Never satisfied with what you have; always thinking somewhere or something else is better.
đứng tim
Heart-stopping — that split second of freeze when a scare or a reveal lands; also for cliffhangers and penalty kicks.
đứt gióng nên phải tạm choàng
The basket-cord snapped, so a rope thrown round for now — the makeshift that must serve till better.
đứt ruột đứt gan
Gut-torn and liver-torn — grief that feels like being ripped apart inside.
đứt đi mà nối, sao cho bằng mối xưa
Retied, but never like the first knot — mended bonds keep their splice.
đứt đuôi con nòng nọc
Clean as a tadpole losing its tail — decisively, completely severed.
đừng giận nữa
"Don't be mad anymore" — the make-up opener; multiplied with food ("đừng giận nữa, đi ăn nha?") it rarely fails.
đừng lo
"Don't worry" — reassurance in two syllables; "đừng lo, có mình đây" (don't worry, I'm here) is the full comfort package.
đừng làm phiền tôi
"Leave me alone / stop bothering me" — firm but not vulgar; the street-vendor deflection when a smile hasn't worked.
đừng nài lương giáo khác dòng, vốn đều con Lạc cháu Hồng khi xưa
Press no divide of Buddhist and Catholic — all were children of Lạc and grandchildren of Hồng before the altars differed.
da bọc qui đầu
to cover or hide one's mistakes
da che mắt ngựa
to be blind to the truth
Da chuột căng làm trống
Making the most of limited resources
Da chì mặt bủng
Ugly outside but beautiful inside
Da gà bọc xương gà
Something that appears valuable but is actually worthless
Da gà nên bọc lấy xương gà
Family members should support each other
Da gà tóc bạc
Old but still strong and active
Da mồi tóc bạc
Experience and wisdom come with age
Da mồi tóc sương
Vietnamese proverb; English definition pending editorial review.
Da ngà mắt phượng
A person with a humble appearance but exceptional abilities
Da ngựa bọc thây
A beautiful appearance that hides something ugly inside
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