làm dâu trăm họ

Vietnamese

Etymology

The notion of "a hundred families" is likely from Chinese 百姓 (bá tánh, bách tính). Compare the words for "hundred" in expressions such as bách thú (“all animals”, literally “a hundred beasts”), Bách Việt (“the Yue tribes”, literally “a hundred Yue”), trăm trận trăm thắng/bách chiến bách thắng (“matchless; unrivaled”, literally “a hundred battles, a hundred victories”).

Pronunciation
  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [laːm˨˩ zəw˧˧ t͡ɕam˧˧ hɔ˧˨ʔ]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [laːm˦˩ jəw˧˧ ʈam˧˧ hɔ˨˩ʔ]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [laːm˨˩ jəw˧˧ ʈam˧˧ hɔ˨˩˨]
  • Audio (Hà Nội)(file)

Verb

làm dâu trăm họ

  1. (literal) to be the daughter-in-law of a hundred/many/all families
  2. (figurative) to be duty-bound to please/appeal to/appease everyone
    Làm marketing là làm dâu trăm họ, em ạ.
    Working in marketing means having to please everyone, honey.
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