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.
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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 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 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.
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 rắn bắt nhái
Pretending to be fierce or intimidating
oan hồn hồn hiện
A person's spirit or soul is troubled or restless
over hợp
A match beyond perfect — English "over" bolted onto "hợp" (to suit): so fitting it overshoots the scale.
Ông bảy mươi học ông bảy mốt
It's never too late to learn
Ông mất tay giò, bà thò chai rượu
The man loses his grip, the woman takes control
ô cửa sổ tròn trên tàu
porthole
ôm chân nấp bóng
To rely on someone's power or influence for protection
ông có cái giò, bà thò chai rượu
Husband and wife work together in harmony
ông cả bà lớn
Husband and wife work together in harmony
ông ghê bà cũng gớm
The husband is bad, and the wife is also bad.
ông giẳng, ông giăng, ông giằng búi tóc
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses
ông Lảng ông Lang ông ra đầu làng
Everyone is responsible, but no one takes responsibility
ông mãnh bà cô
A strong man and a weak woman make an incompatible couple
ông nọ bà kia
Someone or other, unspecified people
ông phải đấm, bà phải đạp
Husband and wife must work together to succeed
ông thày khoe ông thày tốt, bà cốt cạy bà cốt hay
Everyone praises their own
ông thày ăn một, bà cốt ăn hai
The teacher benefits less than the student
Ơn cha báo đáp, ơn mẹ dưỡng thành
Repays father's nurture and mother's care
Ơn cha nghĩa mẹ
Gratitude and respect towards one's parents
Ơn trời biển
Vietnamese idiom; English definition pending editorial review.
ơn vua giấy vàng, ơn làng giấy trắng
Gratitude towards a higher authority is more valued than towards a local one
ơn vua lộc nước
Gratitude towards the king and the country
ốc đã mang được cọc
Something is already beyond hope or repair
Ớt nào mà ớt chẳng cay
Everyone has their own flaws or weaknesses
Ở bầu thì tròn, ở ống thì dài
Adapting to circumstances to survive or thrive
Ở sao cho vừa lòng người
Vietnamese idiom; English definition pending editorial review.