đứt đi mà nối, sao cho bằng mối xưa
Retied, but never like the first knot — mended bonds keep their splice.
Browse all entries 83355
Every expression in the dictionary, A to Z — pick a language, then a letter.
All languages English Tiếng Việt Chinese 中文
đứt đuôi con nòng nọc
Clean as a tadpole losing its tail — decisively, completely severed.
đừng giận nữa
"Don't be mad anymore" — the make-up opener; multiplied with food ("đừng giận nữa, đi ăn nha?") it rarely fails.
đừng lo
"Don't worry" — reassurance in two syllables; "đừng lo, có mình đây" (don't worry, I'm here) is the full comfort package.
đừng làm phiền tôi
"Leave me alone / stop bothering me" — firm but not vulgar; the street-vendor deflection when a smile hasn't worked.
đừng nài lương giáo khác dòng, vốn đều con Lạc cháu Hồng khi xưa
Press no divide of Buddhist and Catholic — all were children of Lạc and grandchildren of Hồng before the altars differed.
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.
ước gì anh hóa ra gương, để cho em cứ ngày thường em soi. Ước gì anh hóa ra cơi, để cho em đựng cau tươi trầu vàng
Would you were a mirror, for me to gaze in daily; would you were a betel box, for me to keep fresh areca and golden leaf — love wishing itself into the beloved's hands.
ước gì sông rộng một gang, bắc cầu dải yếm để chàng sang chơi
Would the river were one hand-span wide — I'd bridge it with my yếm-strap for you to cross and visit — desire re-engineering geography.
ải mĩ nhân
The beauty pass — the trap where a man's judgment goes to die; seduction deployed with intent.
ảo ma
Surreal to the point of suspicion — internet shorthand for "that can't be real". Often extended into the nonsense chant "ảo ma Canada".
ảo thật đấy
Deadpan "now that is unreal" — the meme-certified reaction to something absurd enough to question reality, popularized by streamer culture.
ảo tung chảo
So surreal the wok flips — maximum-strength "unbelievable", the cartoonish upgrade of "ảo" for things that break your sense of reality.
ấm a ấm ớ
Humming and hawing — mumbling evasively, never giving a straight answer.
ấm cật no lòng
Warm-backed and full-bellied — living in comfort and plenty.
ấm ớ hội tề
Mumbling like the village council — deliberately vague, neither confirming nor denying.
ấp rắn vào ngực
To clutch a snake to your chest — to shelter someone who will turn on you.
ầu ơ, gió đưa bụi chuối sau hè Anh mê vợ bé bỏ bè con thơ
Lullaby: wind stirs the banana clump behind the house — he chases the minor wife and abandons raft and children — the deserted family's cradle song.
ầu ơ, gió đưa gió đẩy về rẫy ăn còng Về sông ăn cá, về đồng ăn cua
Lullaby: wind blows and shoves — to the clearing for còng crabs, to the river for fish, to the fields for crabs — the roaming song of making-do.
ậm à ậm ừ
Umming and ahing — grunting vaguely to dodge every question at hand.
ếch ngồi đáy giếng
Someone with a narrow worldview who mistakes their limited experience for the whole world.
ếch ngồi đáy giếng biết đâu là giời
The frog at the well's bottom — sure the sky is exactly one well-mouth wide.
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.
ủa gì vậy
The double-take: "wait, what?" — "ủa" is the noise Vietnamese makes when reality glitches; beloved of memes and group chats.
ỷ thế ỷ thần
Leaning on power, leaning on spirits — patronage temporal or supernatural, so long as it's someone else's strength.
ỷm cựu nghinh tân
Tiring of the old to greet the new — appetite's endless trade-in.
一举一动 yī jǔ yī dòng
Everything a person does, down to the smallest gesture.
一呼百应 yī hū bǎi yìng
One person calls and a crowd answers: an appeal is taken up at once by a great many people.
一成不变 yī chéng bù biàn
Fixed once and for all; never changing.
一日为师，终身为父 yī rì wéi shī, zhōng shēn wéi fù
Anyone who has taught you, even just for one day, should be honoured like a father for as long as you live.
一本万利 yī běn wàn lì
To make an enormous profit from a very small investment.
一箭双雕 yī jiàn shuāng diāo
To achieve two goals with a single action, like 'killing two birds with one stone'.
一言九鼎 yī yán jiǔ dǐng
Said of a person whose word carries great weight: what they say settles the matter and can be relied on.
万不得已 wàn bù dé yǐ
Only when there is absolutely no other choice; as a last resort.
万事如意 wàn shì rú yì
A set good wish: may everything go the way you want.
万事起头难 wàn shì qǐ tóu nán
The beginning is the hardest part of anything.
三十六计 sān shí liù jì
The Thirty-Six Stratagems, a classic Chinese list of ruses for war and politics; loosely, every trick there is.
三生有幸 sān shēng yǒu xìng
Extremely lucky, as if blessed across three lifetimes.
三纲五常 sān gāng wǔ cháng
The core of traditional Confucian ethics: three bonds (ruler over subject, father over son, husband over wife) plus five unchanging virtues.
三言两语 sān yán liǎng yǔ
Just a sentence or two; a very brief way of putting something.
下雨 xià yǔ
To rain: the usual way to say that rain is falling.
不分胜败 bù fēn shèng bài
Evenly matched: a contest ends, or drags on, with neither side clearly ahead.
不客气 bù kè qi
You're welcome, don't mention it — the standard reply when someone thanks you.
不省人事 bù xǐng rén shì
Completely unconscious; out cold.
不耻下问 bù chǐ xià wèn
Not too proud to learn from people who are younger, lower in rank or less educated than you.
不近人情 bù jìn rén qíng
Cold and unreasonable: going against ordinary human feelings and what anyone would naturally expect.
世外桃源 shì wài táo yuán
An idyllic place cut off from the troubles of the outside world; a hidden paradise.
两败俱伤 liǎng bài jù shāng
Both sides in a fight or rivalry come out badly hurt and nobody gains.
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.