làm trâu làm ngựa

Vietnamese

Etymology

làm +‎ trâu +‎ làm +‎ ngựa, literally “to be a water buffalo and be a horse”; compare Chinese 做牛做馬／做牛做马 (tố ngưu tố mã), 當牛做馬／当牛做马 (đương ngưu tố mã).

Pronunciation
  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [laːm˨˩ t͡ɕəw˧˧ laːm˨˩ ŋɨə˧˨ʔ]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [laːm˦˩ ʈəw˧˧ laːm˦˩ ŋɨə˨˩ʔ]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [laːm˨˩ ʈəw˧˧ laːm˨˩ ŋɨə˨˩˨]

Verb

làm trâu làm ngựa

  1. (idiomatic) to work diligently and submissively

See also
  • trâu ngựa
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