ăn chín uống sôi
to practice good hygiene by only consuming cooked food and boiled water
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ăn chó cả lông
Eating the dog, fur and all — appetite, or greed, that refuses no part.
ăn chõ ngồi chẽ
Mind the steamer, sit with care — a dialect cousin of 'watch the pot as you eat, watch the direction as you sit.'
ăn chưa
The Southern hello-by-way-of-food: "eaten yet?" — care disguised as a question; nobody is actually taking your order.
ăn chắc mặc bền
to prioritize durability and utility over luxury or aesthetics
ăn chẳng nên đọi, nói chẳng nên nhời
Eating short of a bowl, speaking short of a sentence — competence arriving nowhere whole.
ăn chặn
to embezzle, pocket, or intercept money or goods that belong to others (especially by taking a cut from wages, relief funds, or payments)
ăn có bữa lo không có bữa
Meals have their hours; worry keeps none — eating is bounded, care is boundless.
ăn có mời, làm có khiến
Eat when invited, work when bidden — propriety waits for the summons.
ăn có nhai, nói có nghĩ
Chew before swallowing, think before speaking — the mouth's two duties, both requiring pause.
ăn cơm chúa, múa tối ngày
Eat the lord's rice, dance till nightfall — whoever feeds you commands your day.
ăn cơm chưa
The classic Vietnamese hello: "have you eaten rice yet?" — care, not catering; the correct answer is short and warm either way.
ăn cơm mắm thấm về lâu
Fish-paste rice seeps in slowly — plain fare, like plain truth, soaks deep with time.
ăn cơm mới nói chuyện cũ
Over new rice, tell the old stories — the harvest table is where memory eats.
ăn cơm quốc gia, thờ ma cộng sản
to eat the State's rice while worshiping the Communist spirits
ăn cơm tập thể
Mess-hall living — the crowded, threadbare communality of dormitory rice.
ăn cướp còn la làng
The robber crying 'thief!' loudest — the guilty party howling as the victim.
ăn cỗ có phần
Attend the feast and a portion is yours — presence collects its share.
ăn gửi nằm nhờ
Eating as a lodger, sleeping as a guest — a life boarded entirely on sufferance.
ăn hành
To get wrecked, suffer, or be put through the wringer (originally gaming slang).
ăn hả hả, trả ỷ ỷ
Borrow beaming, repay cringing — the two faces of every loan.
ăn hết nhiều, ở hết bao nhiêu
Eating consumes plenty; dwelling consumes how much? — food is the true expense; lodging is cheap.
ăn kĩ làm dối
Thorough at eating, slapdash at working — careful only where the appetite is concerned.
ăn kỉ no dai
Careful eating keeps you full the longer — providence now is comfort later.
ăn kỹ no lâu, cầy sâu tốt lúa
Chew well, stay full; plow deep, reap thick — thoroughness feeds twice.
ăn làm sóng, nói làm gió
Making waves of meals and wind of words — stirring commotion out of eating and talking alike.
ăn lông ở lỗ
to live as if one is a prehistoric man
ăn lắm ỉa nhiều
Much eating, much dunging — the idle glutton produces nothing else.
ăn may
(verb) to win or succeed by sheer luck rather than skill or effort
ăn mày dĩ vãng
To beg from the past — to live off old glories and keep trading on what you once did.
ăn mày quen ngõ
The beggar knows the lane — habit wears its own path to the same door.
ăn mày đòi sôi-gấc, ăn chực đòi bánh-chưng
The beggar demanding gấc-red sticky rice, the freeloader demanding bánh chưng — dependency with a tasting menu.
ăn mắm ngắm về sau
Eat fish-paste, expect the thirst after — pleasures bill their sequel.
ăn mặn nói ngay
Eat salty and speak straight — better plain-living honesty than fasting hypocrisy.
ăn ngon miệng nhé
"Enjoy your meal" — said when serving or leaving someone to eat; the Vietnamese bon appétit.
ăn như gấu ăn giăng
Eating like the bear eating the moon — devouring on a mythological scale.
ăn nhờ ở đậu
to live in someone else's house and rely on them for food and shelter
ăn no sanh sự
A full belly breeds mischief — comfort is where trouble learns to walk.
ăn nên làm ra
to bring benefits; to be profitable
ăn nói xà lơ
Talking nonsense; saying something totally off — “xà lơ” is a playful take on “sai lơ” (dead wrong).
ăn quen, nhịn không quen
Indulgence comes easy; abstaining doesn't — appetites train faster than restraint ever will.
ăn quả bỏ hột
Eat the fruit, toss the seed — enjoyment that discards its own next harvest.
ăn sẻ sẻ đẻ ông voi
Eat like a sparrow, lose like an elephant — the gambler's diet: tiny wins, giant losses.
ăn sống nuốt tươi
Eaten raw and swallowed live — consumed without ceremony; overwhelmed in one bite.
ăn theo thuở, ở theo thì
Eat by the season, live by the times — bend your habits to the hour you're given.
ăn thì cho, buôn thì so
Food is given freely; goods are haggled — meals escape arithmetic, trade never does.
ăn thì hơn, hờn thì thiệt
Eating gains, sulking loses — storm off and you forfeit your share.
ăn thì vóc, học thì hay
Food builds the frame, study builds the mind — nourishment shows in the body, learning in the wit.
ăn thùng uống vại
to eat and drink excessively or gluttonously; to have a massive appetite
ăn to nói lớn
to be straightforward, bold, and decisive in one's conduct and speech
ăn trưa chưa
"Had lunch yet?" — the office corridor greeting; an invitation hides inside it more often than not.
ăn trước trả sau
Eat first, pay after — enjoying now what must be settled later.
ăn trầu cách mắt
Betel passed over one guest — the gift that skips an eye makes an enemy of it.
ăn trầu gẫm
Chewing betel in thought — turning the world over slowly, quid in cheek.
ăn trắng mặc trơn
to live a life of leisure, comfort, and wealth
ăn trộm có tang, chơi ngang có tích
Theft leaves evidence, mischief leaves a record — wrongdoing files its own paperwork.
ăn trộm quen tay, ngủ ngày quen mắt
Thieving trains the hand as day-sleep trains the eye — practice a vice and it becomes your nature.
ăn tàn phá hại
to be extremely destructive and wasteful; to consume resources without contributing anything
ăn tấm trả giặt
Eat broken rice, repay whole grains — borrow small and repay large, as gambling debts go.
ăn tục nói phét
to habitually use foul language and tell tall tales or lies
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