oa giác công danh, nhăng đầu vi lợi
Fame the size of a snail's horn, profit the size of a fly's head — the tininess of what we trample each other for.
Browse Tiếng Việt 393
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
oan gia nghi giải bất nghi kết
Feuds are for untying, not for knotting — grievance managed rightly ends; managed wrongly, it compounds.
oan gia ngõ hẹp
foes in a narrow alleyway.
oan oan tương báo
Wrong answering wrong forever — vengeance signing its own next invoice.
oan phường vải
Slandered like the cloth-sellers' guild — accused with a trader's own twisting tongue.
oan Thị Kính
Wronged like Thị Kính — an injustice impossible to explain away; blameless yet condemned.
oan Thị Mầu
Wronged like Thị Mầu — playing the victim when one is really the culprit.
oki
Cutesy “OK” — agreement with sprinkles.
ong kiến còn có vua tôi, huống chi loài người
Even bees and ants keep kings and subjects — order is older than mankind; what excuse have we.
ong vỡ ổ
The hive burst open — everything airborne and stinging at once.
ôm cây đợi thỏ
to be conservative; to resist change and innovation; to stick to old principles
ôm hàng
Left hugging the goods — stuck holding a position, usually bought near the top and often on someone else’s urging; bag-holding, Vietnamese edition.
ôm rơm rặm bụng
to take on unnecessary burden; to bring trouble upon oneself
ôn cố nhi tri tân
Warm the old to know the new — revision is where discovery lives.
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.
ông chẳng bà chuộc
He says 'chẳng', she says 'chuộc' — two people forever at cross purposes, like the toad-call pair.
ông già bà cả
The old folks and elders — the aged, taken together with respect.
ông nói gà, bà nói vịt
he said, she said
ông tha mà bà chẳng tha, đánh một cái lụt mồng ba tháng mười
Grandfather forgives, grandmother doesn't — the tenth-month flood that always comes anyway; mercy overruled at home.
ông thông bà phán
The clerk and the madam commissioner — the petty officialdom that swaggers around an office.
ông tám
A man who gossips like a market auntie — the male spin on "bà tám", for guys who narrate everyone's business.
ông ăn chả, bà ăn nem
he eats chả, she eats nem
ơ mây zing gút chóp
Amazing, good job! — the English phrase respelled in Vietnamese, popularized as a catchphrase by coach Binz on Rap Việt (2020).
ơn cả nghĩa dày
A debt of kindness broad and deep — gratitude owed past measuring.
ố nhơn thắng kỉ
Hating whoever betters you — envy dressed as judgment.
ốc chẳng nổi mình ốc
The snail can't even carry its own shell — and offers to carry moss for others.
ốc như huyền khánh
A house like a hung chime-stone — four bare walls and the wind; poverty with nothing left to list.
ối dồi ôi
The Northern yelp of astonishment — an eye-popping "oh my goodness!" that internet culture adopted as a meme spelling of "ối giời ơi".
ống tre đè miệng giạ
The bamboo strickle levels the measure — the honest scrape across the brim; full measure, no heap, no hollow.
ớt cay gừng đắng
Chili hot, ginger bitter — the sharp seasonings of shared life.
ớt nào mà ớt chẳng cay, gái nào mà gái chẳng hay ghen chồng Vôi nào là vôi chẳng nồng, gái nào là gái có chồng chẳng ghen
What chili isn't hot, what girl doesn't guard her husband — jealousy as natural as spice.
Ở hiền gặp lành
One good turn deserves another.
ở cho phải phải phân phân, cây da cậy thần, thần cậy cây da
The banyan leans on the spirit, the spirit on the banyan — legitimacy and shelter propping each other up.
ở sao vừa được lòng người, ở rộng người cười, ở hẹp người chê
Live so as to please everyone? Live broadly they laugh, live narrowly they sneer — the impossibility of universal approval.
ở đâu còn lâu mới nói
'As if — like I'd ever tell' — the interrogation-proof teenage stonewall.
ở đời muôn sự của chung, hơn nhau một tiếng anh hùng mà thôi
In this life all things are held in common — we outdo each other only by the name of hero left behind.
Oai oái như bà phủ Khoái xin tương
Pretending to be powerful or important
Oai oái như nhái phải rắn
Being extremely frightened or shocked
Oai oái như phủ Khoái xin cơm
Pretending to be something one is not
Oai oái như phủ Khoái xin tương
Pretentious but actually worthless
Oai oái như rắn bắt nhái
Pompous but actually weak
Oai phong lẫm liệt
Imposing and intimidating presence
oai-oái như rắn bắt nhái
Pretending to be fierce or intimidating
Oan bằng oan Thị Kính
False accusations can lead to more false accusations
Oan có đầu, nợ có chủ
Innocence will be vindicated and debts will be repaid
Oan gia nghỉ giải bất nghi kết
Wrongly accused people will be vindicated
Oan gia nên mở không nên kết
It's better to avoid getting involved with troublesome people
Oan gia túc trái
To suffer unfairly or be wrongly punished
oan hồn hồn hiện
A person's spirit or soul is troubled or restless
Oan hồn, hồn hiện
Unsettled spirits seek revenge or justice
oan khí tương triền
Innocent people suffer together with the guilty
Oan như oan bà Thị Kính
Vietnamese proverb; English definition pending editorial review.
Oan như oan Thị Kính
Vietnamese proverb; English definition pending editorial review.
Oan như oan Thị Màu
Vietnamese proverb; English definition pending editorial review.
Oan Thị Màu
Vietnamese proverb; English definition pending editorial review.
Oang oang như lệnh vỡ
Completely obedient without question
Oi mô, nấp nấy
Each problem has its own solution
ok luôn
Instant agreement, chat-flavored — "ok" sealed with "luôn": not just yes, but yes right now, no hesitation.
ong bò vẽ
a person who often talks nonsense
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.