Tiếng Việt · Word Attested

ngã ngựa

[ŋaː˦ˀ˥ ŋɨə˧˨ʔ]

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(verb) to fall from a horse

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

rơi khỏi ngựa

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(verb) to lose one's power, position, success, fame, wealth, etc.; to be caught, arrested, demoted or ousted; to suffer a defeat or failure

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

mất quyền lực hoặc thất bại

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Examples

Trên thực tế, sau khi ông Bạc Hi Lai “ngã ngựa”, báo chí phương Tây và Hong Kong đưa tin ông Chu Vĩnh Khang đã rơi vào thế khó.In fact, after Bo Xilai was ousted, Western and Hong Kong media also reported that Zhou Yongkang was similarly in trouble.

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Topics: Horses

Common questions

What does “ngã ngựa” mean?

(verb) to fall from a horse

Is “ngã ngựa” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.