gái tứ chiếng
A woman of the four garrisons — the drifting demimonde of the old towns.
Browse Tiếng Việt 1806
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Where will you be? Anywhere Hà Nội & the NorthHuế / Đà Nẵng & the CenterSài Gòn & the SouthOnline slang Bắc ↔ Nam words
gái đứng đường
A streetwalker — a woman soliciting on the street. Blunt and contemptuous in most mouths; the phrase is also thrown as pure insult with no literal meaning intended, which is reason enough to handle it with care.
gánh bàn độc mướn
Carrying the altar-table for hire — shouldering solemn burdens that were never yours.
gánh cực mà đổ lên non, cong lưng mà chạy, cực còn theo sau
Haul your misery up the mountain and dump it; bend your back and run — misery still follows behind.
gánh team
To carry the team — doing everyone’s share while teammates spectate.
gánh vàng vào kho
Hauling gold into the treasury — labor whose whole profit lands in official vaults.
gánh vã buôn thuyền
Plowing for hire, hoeing for wages — the landless day's labor, sold field by field.
gây thù chuốc oán
Sowing feuds and buying grudges — making enemies whose hatred comes back on you.
gây tê ngoài màng cứng
to administer an epidural; epidural anesthesia
gãi đúng chỗ ngứa
Scratching right where it itches — hitting exactly what someone was hoping for.
gãi đầu gãi tai
Scratching head and ear — squirming over something awkward to say or solve.
gét gô
Bring it on.
gì cơ
Northern "what was that? / come again?" — polite non-comprehension; "cơ" is a distinctly Hà Nội particle.
gì vậy
Southern "what? / what's that?" — from genuine question to mild outrage ("cái gì vậy trời!") depending on volume.
gìa lăm gìa hỏng
Count on it hard and watch it miss — what's banked on never lands; the accidental arrives instead.
gìa sanh tật, đất sanh cỏ
Age sprouts infirmities as soil sprouts weeds — the years plant what they please.
gò bồng đảo
The mounds of the Isles of Bliss — a woman's breasts, in Hồ Xuân Hương's sly classical geography.
gòy soq
Cutesy texting spelling of "rồi xong" — "welp, that's it, it's over", said with mock resignation.
góc bể chân trời
Sea-corners and sky's edge — the far ends of the earth; immeasurable distance.
gót chân A-sin
Achilles heel; weakness
gông đeo cổ
A cangue around the neck — a burden locked on that goes everywhere you do.
gơn phố
A «street girl» in the fashion sense — the female half of the Hanoi boy-phố/girl-phố streetwear subculture: bold makeup, branded (or đôn chề) fits, Vinahouse energy, flashy urban confidence.
gươm cầm đằng chuôi
Holding the sword by the hilt — advantage secured at the handle end.
gươm hai lưỡi
A two-edged sword — help and harm sharing one blade.
gươm kề cổ
A sword at the neck — persuasion by proximity of blade.
gươm đàn quảy gánh
A sword, a lute and a carrying-pole — the free-roaming life of the wandering artist.
gương tày liếp
A warning big as a bamboo screen — a predecessor's failure hung up where none can miss it.
gương vỡ lại lành
a situation where a couple reunites after their break-up or divorce
gạn đục khơi trong
separate the wheat from the chaff
gạo châu củi quế
Rice dear as pearls, firewood dear as cinnamon — the market at famine prices.
gạo đã thành cơm
The rice is already cooked — what's done has set and cannot be uncooked.
gảy đòn gánh giữa đường
The carrying-pole snapping mid-road — a marriage broken in its middle years.
gấu bự
Big bear — an extra-sized (or extra-beloved) boyfriend/girlfriend; “gấu” is the classic slang for one’s S.O.
gần chùa gọi bụt bằng anh
to treat somebody, especially a superior, overly casually due to familiarity
gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng
You take on the character of the company you keep — bad company corrupts, good company uplifts.
gần nhà xa ngõ
Near by houses, far by lanes — neighbors the map calls close and the path calls distant.
gần đàng xa ngõ
Near by the road, far by the gate — neighbors in distance, strangers in visits.
gần đất xa trời
to have one foot in the grave; to be dying; to be close to death
gậy bà đập lưng bà
Grandma's own stick lands on grandma's back — the weapon returning to its owner.
gậy ông đập lưng ông
Close to the English saying: “Hoist with his own petard.”.
gắng công mài sắt, chầy ngày nên kim
Grind the iron long enough and it becomes a needle — patience is the whole of the craft.
gắp lửa bỏ tay người
to pass the buck; to weasel out; to slander
gắt như mắm tôm
easily irritable
gọi bụt bằng anh
Calling the Buddha 'big brother' — familiarity at maximum insolence.
gọi đồ ăn, đồ uống
to order food and drinks
gội đầu vấn tóc
Washing the hair and binding it up — the courteous welcome owed to a worthy person.
gởi trấng cho ác
Entrusting eggs to the raven — deposit made straight into the appetite of the keeper.
gỡ rối tơ lòng
Untangling the heart's silk — easing someone's knotted troubles; the agony-aunt's trade.
gừng càng già càng cay
the older a person is, the wiser they are; a person is more and more experienced as they age
gửi trứng cho ác
to hand or entrust one's treasure to a feigning baddie
Gai mắt chướng tai
A person who is disliked or annoying
gai ngọn dọn hơn gai gốc
The consequence is easier to deal with than the root cause
Gai ngọn giòn hơn gai gốc
The younger generation is more talented than the older one
Gai ngọn nhọn hơn gai gốc
The consequences of an action are worse than the action itself
Gai trên rừng ai biết mà nhọn, trái kia trên ngọn ai vo mà tròn
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses
Gai trên rừng ai bức mà nhọn, trái trên cây ai vo mà tròn
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses
Gai trên rừng ai bứt mà nhọn
Everyone has their own problems
Gai trên rừng ai mút mà nhọn
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses
Gai trên rừng ai vót mà nhọn, trái trên cây ai vo mà tròn
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses
Gai ở ngọn giòn hơn gai gốc
The troubles caused by children are more painful than those caused by parents
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