khoẻ như voi
very healthy and strong
Browse all entries 83141
All languages English Tiếng Việt
khoẻ như vâm
as fit as a fiddle
khu bảo tồn thiên nhiên
nature reserve
khu mấn
Nghệ An–Hà Tĩnh for "worthless, no good at all" — literally the seat of the coarse black skirts local women wore in the 1960s–70s; "đẹp cái khu mấn!" ≈ "pretty, my foot!".
khu nhà vệ sinh và phòng tắm
toilet and shower block
khuynh cái hạ mã
Tilting the parasol and dismounting — the full courtesies paid to someone deeply respected.
khuynh gia bại sản
to lose all of one’s assets, wealth, and housing; to go pear-shaped
khuê phụ oán
The chamber wife's lament — a woman aching for her absent husband.
khác máu tanh lòng
Different blood breeds fishy hearts.
khách tới nhà chẳng gà thì vịt
A guest at the door — if not chicken, then duck — hospitality that always finds something for the pot.
khát nước
(noun) chestnut-winged cuckoo (Clamator coromandus)
khát nước quá
"So thirsty" — Vietnam's heat writes this line daily; the vocabulary of ordering the drink comes right after it.
khéo làm tôi vụng
The skillful end up serving the clumsy — cleverness earns the work, dullness the rest.
khê hác chi tâm
A heart like a ravine — greed no filling ever levels.
khó có nhau hơn giàu một mình
Poor together beats rich alone — company is the wealth that counts.
khó giữ đầu, giầu giữ của
The poor guard their heads, the rich their goods — each defends the only thing they have.
khó muốn giầu, đau muốn đã
The poor want wealth, the sick want health — desire is always for the missing thing.
khó mới có mà ăn, ngồi không ai dễ đem phần tới cho
Only the hard-up have food — no one delivers portions to the idle; want is what gets people working.
khó nằm giữa chợ chẳng ai han, giàu ở lâm san, ghe kẻ tìm tới
Poor in the market's middle, unasked-after; rich in the deep forest, sought by boats — money, not distance, decides your visitors.
khó sạch rách thơm
Poor but clean, ragged but fragrant — integrity kept laundered whatever the wardrobe.
khó đỡ
Impossible to parry — behavior or situations so absurd there is no graceful response; you just take the hit.
khóc hổ ngươi, cười ra nước mắt
Ashamed to weep, laughing out tears — caught where neither face will fit.
khóc nhè chè thiu
Whimpering over stale tea — sulky crying over nothing worth the tears.
khô cả cổ
Talked till the throat runs dry — pleading at length to ears that never open.
khô như con mắm
Dry as salted fish — desiccated; a person or prose with all the juice cured out.
khôn ba năm, dại một giờ
Even smart people can have a momentary lapse in judgement. / Even Homer sometimes nods.
khôn cho người ta giái, dại cho người ta thương
Be clever enough to be feared, or artless enough to be loved — only the in-between draws hate.
khôn chẳng qua nhẽ, khoẻ chẳng qua nhời
Cleverness yields to reason, strength to words — argument outranks both wit and muscle.
khôn một người một léo, khéo một người một ý
Each clever head its own trick, each skilled hand its own way — mastery never comes in one pattern.
khôn ngoan chẳng bằng thật thà
Cunning is no match for honesty — the straight measure outlasts every crooked one.
khôn ngoan chẳng lọ là nhiều Người khôn mới nói nửa điều đã khôn
Wisdom isn't measured by volume — the wise show wise in half a sentence.
khôn ngoan chẻ vỏ
Armed with fangs and beak — equipped to bite back; not to be handled bare.
khôn ngoan giữa đám ba bề, chớ cho ai lận chớ hề lận ai
Sharp on every side of the market — neither cheated nor cheating: that is the whole of commercial wisdom.
khôn ngoan đối đáp người ngoài Gà cùng một mẹ chớ hoài đá nhau
Be clever answering outsiders — chicks of one mother must never spar with each other — solidarity begins in the coop.
khôn nhà dại chợ
clever at home but foolish out on the street; a smart aleck among family but timid among strangers
khôn thuở nên ba, dại cho đến già còn dại
Wise by three or foolish to the grave — native wit shows in the cradle; only study amends it.
khôn thì sống, mống thì chết
The quick live, the slow die — wits are the first survival equipment.
khôn văn tế, dại văn bia
Clever in the eulogy, foolish on the stele — flatter the living aloud, but carve stone carefully.
khôn ăn cái, dại ăn nước
The wise eat the solids, the foolish drink the broth — advantage goes to whoever knows which part matters.
khôn ăn người, dại người ăn
The clever eat others; the foolish are eaten — the market's shortest food chain.
khôn đâu cho trẻ, khỏe đâu cho già
Wisdom skips the young, vigor skips the old — each age lacks the other's gift.
khôn độc không bằng ngốc đàn
A lone sage is less than a chorus of simpletons — many plain heads outvote one brilliant one.
không ai chịu cha ăn cướp
No one owns to being the robber's father — even thieves' kin want clean hands; guilt finds no volunteers.
không ai nắm tay đến tối, không ai gối đầu đến sáng
No hand stays clasped till nightfall, no head shares the pillow till dawn — nobody's safety is guaranteed the whole way.
không biết thì dựa cột mà nghe
If you don't know something listen.
không cay nha
"Not spicy, please" — the self-defense clause; Southern "nha" makes it a friendly request rather than an order.
không cha có chú ai ơi Thay mặt đối lời chú cũng như cha
No father? There's the uncle — standing in, word for word, the uncle serves as father.
không chó bắt mèo ăn dơ
No dog? The cat gets the scraps duty — necessity promotes whoever's left.
không có bông tuyết nào trong sạch
no one is an angel; no one is perfect; no one is above reproach
không có chi
you are welcome; no problem
không có gì
You’re welcome. / No problem.
không có lửa làm sao có khói
without fire, how is there smoke?
không có lửa sao có khói
"There is no effect without some cause." or "It is supposed that if there is a rumour, there must be some truth behind it.".
không công cha ăn công cốc Không nghĩa mẹ có ngồi liếm đĩa
Without father's labor you'd eat empty air; without mother's care you'd sit licking plates — the blunt accounting of what parents provide.
không cần đâu
"No need, really" — declines offers (help, plastic bags, extra chili) without refusing the kindness behind them.
không làm thì đừng ăn
No work, no eating — the table serves only the hands that served it.
không phải dạng vừa đâu
Not the average sort at all — a warning that someone is far more formidable than they look.
không sao đâu
The all-purpose "it's okay, no harm done" — waves off apologies, thanks, and small accidents in one breath.
không thầy đố mày làm nên
without a teacher, I dare you to do or make anything of note
không tin nổi
"I can't believe it" — the everyday disbelief phrase for results, prices, and plot twists; standard language, worth learning as a unit.
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.