xuống thác lên ghềnh
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Down the falls, up the rapids — a course of nothing but hard water.
Literally: descend the falls, ascend the rapids
Examples
Đời chị xuống thác lên ghềnh mãi.Her life has been all falls and rapids.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “xuống thác lên ghềnh” mean?
Down the falls, up the rapids — a course of nothing but hard water. Literally: descend the falls, ascend the rapids
Is “xuống thác lên ghềnh” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.