gãi đầu gãi tai
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Scratching head and ear — squirming over something awkward to say or solve.
Literally: scratch the head, scratch the ear
Examples
Nó gãi đầu gãi tai mãi mới dám xin nghỉ.He hemmed and scratched his head before daring to ask for leave.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Vietnamese Wiktionary, Thể loại:Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “gãi đầu gãi tai” mean?
Scratching head and ear — squirming over something awkward to say or solve. Literally: scratch the head, scratch the ear
Is “gãi đầu gãi tai” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.