- M -
Ma ăn mày Bụt, Bụt chẳng thèm ăn mày ma
(The ghost begs at Buddha’s but Buddha disdains to beg at the ghost’s)
Men of low positions may fawn on men of high positions but men of high positions never fawn on men of low positions
Humble men may fawn on noble men but noble men never fawn on humble men
Ma bắt , coi mặt người ta
(Even a ghost takes a look at the man he wants to seize)
Not all people are easily bullied
Ma chê, cưới trách
(Funerals are found fault with and marriages are blamed)
Nobody can avoid mistakes in his family’s funerals and marriages
Ma cũ bắt nạt ma mới
(The old ghost bullies the new one)
The old often bully the new
Ma không thương người ốm, kẻ trộm không thương nhà nghèo
(The ghost never takes pity on the sick and a thief never takes pity on the poor )
A thief has no mercy at all
Even a poor family can’t avoid the stealing
Ma mặc áo giấy
(The ghost wears a paper robe )
The unkind have ill deeds
Ma to, giỗ lớn
(When a big man dies there will be a big funeral feast )
Men of high positions can have others’ respect even in their death
Má bánh đúc, dạ đường phèn
(Those who have rice flour cake-like cheeks have sugar-like hearts )
Men having round faces are kind-hearted
Má hồng không thuốc mà say
(Red cheeks have no drugs but make men drunk )
Woman’s beauty can attract any man
Má hồng, mệnh bạc
(As: Hồng nhan bạc mệnh)
Má hồng, phận bạc
(As: Hồng nhan bạc mệnh)
Mai cốt, bất mai danh
(Bones can be burried but fame can’t be )
Man can die but his fame can’t
Mai dài hơn thuổng *
(A spade is longer than a hoe)
What one promises to do later will often not be done
Cp: Tomorrow never comes
Mang chết, chó cũng lè lưỡi
(The dog also sticks out its tongue when the deer dies )
In a fight, the winner may suffer great losses as the defeater
Mảng lo khó, bó không chặt
(He who is worried about the difficulty can’t bind fast)
One should come to determination in his work
Mành treo, chiếu rách cũng treo; hương xông nghi ngút, củi rều cũng xông
(When the screen hangs the torn mat hangs, too; when the incense burns the rotten wood burns, too )
Mean people often imitate noble people’s deeds
Men of no talent often imitate talented people’s deeds
Mảnh bát ngô hơn bồ bát đá
(Better a piece of earthen bowl than a basketful of stone ones)
Men of no talent may show their arrogance to one another
Mảnh chồng quan hơn đàn chồng dân
(One mandarin husband is worth a large number of folk ones )
A husband of a high position is of much more value than a husband of a low position
Mãnh hổ nan địch quần hồ
(Even a strong tiger can’t win a pack of foxes )
A single hero can’t win a lot of his opponents
Mạnh bạo anh hùng rơm
(He who says he is brave is really a hero of straw )
A coward may prove himself to be a brave man
Mạnh dùng sức, yếu dùng chước
(The strong use force and the weak use tricks)
One settles his matters according to his ability
Mạnh được, yếu thua
(The strong win the weak )
The strong are always the winner in any competitions
Cp: The thread breaks where it is weakest
Mạnh vì gạo, bạo vì tiền
(Rice makes him courageous and money makes him vigorous)
As: Kẻ có tiền không mạnh thì bạo
Mát tay hơn hay thuốc
(A cool hand is better than good medicine )
The physician’s experience is more important than good medicine in his medical treatment
Mau miệng ăn, thưa miệng nói
(He who is quick at eating is slow at speaking )
As: ăn cỗ đi trước , lội nước đi sau
Mau tay hơn hay thức
(A quick hand is better than staying up late )
Better be quick in doing than be laborious
Máu ai thấm thịt nấy
(His blood runs in his flesh )
As: Có máu, có xót
Máu bò cũng như tiết dê
(A cow’s blood is not different from a goat’s )
All people must be equally treated
Cp: What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
Máu chảy đến đâu, ruồi bâu đến đấy
(The fly will follow the blood wherever it runs)
Relatives always support one another
Máu chảy, ruột mềm
(When the blood is shed, the bowels wither )
One always feels painful when his relatives come across misfortune
Cp: When the blood sheds, the heart aches
Máu đâu, trâu đó
(The buffalo is lying where it has shedded its blood)
By examining the traces one may learn where incidents have taken place
Máu gà tẩm xương gà
(Use chicken’s blood to soak chicken bones )
A matter should be solved with its own posibilities
Máu loãng còn hơn nước lã
(Even dilute blood is better than water )
As: Cháu mười đời còn hơn người dưng
Máu mủ chẳng thương, thương thiên hạ hàng xứ
(He who doesn’t take pity on his relatives takes pity on strangers )
As: Làm phúc nơi nao, cầu ao chẳng bắc
Máu tham hễ thấy hơi đồng thì mê
(He who is greedy loves money)
A greedy man workships the mamon only
May gặp duyên, chẳng may gặp nợ
(Those who are lucky meet as husbands or wives, these
who are unlucky meet as debts or burdens )
Marriage is made by fate
Cp: Marriages are made in Heaven
May hơn khôn
(Better have good luck than wisdom)
A fortunate man may gain what a wise man cannot
Cp: Better be born lucky than wise
May mùa đông, trồng mùa xuân
(Do the sewing in winter, do the planting in spring )
One should do his job according to the proper time
May tay hơn hay thuốc
(A lucky hand is better than good medicine)
Medical treatment is more important than medicine itself
May váy phòng khi cả dạ
(Cut a robe in case of pregnancy )
One should prevent any troubles in his life
Mày bằng tao, ao bằng giếng
(You and I are alike as well as the pond and the lake are the same)
One should keep the social order in his behaviour
Mặc áo đến vai, chẳng ai mặc áo qua đầu
(Nobody can wear a shirt up to the head, but to the shoulders only )
One should behave himself according to his status
Măng không uốn, uốn tre sao được?
(Why do you want to bend the bamboo when leaving the shoot alone ?)
One should be taught when he is young
Cp: Learn young, learn fair
Măng mọc có lứa, người ta có thì
(Bambooshoots grow in season and women’s time of marriage is limited )
Girls should get marriage when their age of marriage is coming
Măng mọc qua bờ
(The bambooshoots grow beyond the edge )
One may surpass his responsibility
Mắt thợ , vợ vua
(A workman’s eyes are as perfect as a King’s wife )
In his job, every workman can see better than outsiders
Mặt sứa, gan lim
(He has a face of the jelly fish but a liver of iron wood)
A strong-willed man may have a mild appearance
Mặt tái mét, nói phét thành thần
(He whose face is pale boasts high )
A coward often boasts of his unreal bravery
Mặt vuông chữ điền, đồng tiền không có; mặt mũi méo mó lại có đồng tiền
(Wry-faced men have a lot of money but square-faced men don’t have any )
The dishonest are often rich but the honest are often poor
Mất bò mới lo làm chuồng
(He builds a cowshed whose cow has been stolen )
It’s useless to do prevention work after a robbery
Cp: It is too late to lock the stable-door when the horse is
stolen
Mất lòng, còn ruột1
(The bowels are lost but the guts still remain)
One should keep a good relation with the people he does not completely live in harmony
Mất lòng trước, được lòng sau
(First get his antipathy then win his sympathy )
Words or acts for justice may hurt a man at first but will gain his sympathy afterward
Cp: First the bitter then the sweet
Mất ruộng, lấy bờ
(He who has lost the field takes the edge)
One never suffers a complete loss
Mất tiền mua mâm thì đâm cho thủng
(I have spent money on the tray so I have the right to pierce it )
The mother-in-law has the right to ill-treat her daughter-in-law
Mất tiền mua thúng thì đụng cho mòn
(I have spent money on the basket so I have the right to wear it away 2 )
As: Mất tiền mua mâm thì đâm cho thủng
Mất trộm rồi mới rào dậu
(He makes a fence round his house whose things have
been stolen )
As: Mất bò mới lo làm chuồng
Mất vải lại phải đi đo, mất tiền đi đò lại phải kéo dây
(She who has lost cloth has to do the measuring, he who has spent money on the boat fare has to do the towing )
One may meet misfortunes in succession
Cp: Misfortunes never come singly
Mật ít, ruồi nhiều
(There is little honey but the flies are in plenty)
As: Bụt nhiều, oản tí
Mật ngọt chết ruồi
(Honey kills flies)
Sweetness may bring a man into a trap
Cp: Flies are easily caught with honey than with vinegar
Mẫu tử tình thâm
(There is a deep love between a mother and her child(ren))
Love between a child and its parents is one of the greatest human sentiments
Mây mưa đánh đổ đá vàng
(Sexual passion overthrows tender passion )
To reach a true and constant love, one should take care of one’s virtue
Mấy ai biết lúa gon, mấy ai biết con xấu ?
(Who knows his riceplants are worm-eaten and his child is mistaken? )
Few people can recognize their children’s faults
Cp: Every man thinks his own geese swans
Mấy đời gỗ mục đóng nên thuyền rồng
(An imperial boat is never made of decayed wood )
A bad-natured man can’t become a good man
Mấy đời rồng đến nhà tôm
(A dragon never visit a shrimp’s)
A noble man never comes to see an ordinary folk
Mấy đời sứa vượt qua đăng
(A jelly fish never jumps over the fishing net )
A man of no talent is not able to carry out a great cause
Mẹ con, một lần da đến thịt
(In the love between a mother and her children there is only skin depth to the flesh )
As: Mẫu tử tình thâm
Mẹ cú con tiên, mẹ hiền con sục sạo
(The mother is as ugly as an owl and the daughter is as beautiful as a fairy but the mother is kind while the daughter isn't )
The parents and their children may not be alike in appearance as well as in character
Mẹ dạy thì con khéo, bố dạy thì con khôn
(She becomes dexterious with her hands thanks to her mother's teaching and he becomes wise thanks to his father's teaching )
Parents’ education to their children is very necessary and important
Mẹ đánh một trăm không bằng cha ngăm một tiếng
(The mother's one hundred whips are not so dreadful as
the father's one word of scolding )
The father is often more serious than the mother
Children are often more afraid of their fathers than their mothers
Mẹ để đồ thì mát, con để đồ vừa phát vừa đánh (tục)
(She says it's cool when she is in nakedness but she beats her daughter unmercifully when she does the same) (vulg)
Some parents may do their children an injustice
Mẹ già như chuối chín cây
(An old mother is like ripe bananas)
One is always worried about his old parents' sudden death
Mẹ hát con khen, ai chen vô được
(Nobody can interrupt a child's praising to its mother's singing )
Men of a clique often extol one another to the skies
Mẹ hát, con khen hay
(The mother sings and the children praise )
Every child thinks its parents’ deeds are the best
Inferiors often praise their superiors’ deeds
Mẹ ngoảnh đi con dại, mẹ ngoảnh lại con khôn
(When the mother turns her face away, her child is silly, when the mother turns her face back, her child is witty)
A good care breeds a good child
Mèo già hóa cáo
(An old cat will become a fox)
One will learn all tricks in his job after working for a long time
An old man can know all tricks of life
Cp: An old fox is not easily snared
Mèo già lại thua gan chuột nhắt
(An old cat is not as brave as a mouse )
An experienced man may not be as bold as an unexperienced one
An old man may not be so brave as a child
Mèo hoang lại gặp chó hoang
(A wild cat meets a wild dog)
Men of the same sort will meet one another 1
Cp: Birds of a feather gather together
Mèo khen mèo dài đuôi
(A cat always praises his long tail )
Everyone likes to speak well of himself
Cp: Every cook praised his own broth
Mèo lại hoàn mèo
(In the end, a cat comes back to its skin )
As: ăn mày lại hoàn bị gậy
Mèo lành, ai nỡ cắt tai
(Who has the heart to cut a good-natured cat's ears )
Nobody dislikes and abandons a good-natured person
Mèo lành chẳng ở mả, ả lành chẳng ở hàng cơm
(A good cat will not live in the graveyard and a decent girl will not live in a restaurant )
A decent girl never lives a vagabond life
Mèo lớn bắt chuột to, mèo con bắt chuột nhỏ
(The cat hunts rats and the kitten hunts mice )
Like man, like job
Cp: Little things amuse little minds
Mèo mù vớ cá rán
(The blind cat caught a fried fish )
As: Chó ngáp phải ruồi
Mèo nhỏ bắt chuột con
(The kitten hunts mice, not rats )
As: Mèo lớn bắt chuột to, mèo con bắt chuột nhỏ
Mèo tha miếng thịt thì đòi, kễnh tha con lợn mắt coi trừng trừng
(They asked the cat for a piece of meat but just fixed their eyes to the tiger when it carried a pig away)
Laws are just applied to the common people, not the ones of high social positions
Cp: Law catches flies but lets hornets go free
Mèo tha miếng thịt xôn xao, kễnh tha con lợn thì nào thấy chi
(They made noise when the cat carried a piece of meat off but kept quiet when the tiger carried a pig away )
As: Mèo tha miếng thịt thì đòi, kễnh tha con lợn mắt coi trừng trừng
Mèo uống nước biển chẳng bao giờ cạn
(A cat never can empty the sea )
A man of limited talent can’t do great work
Méo miệng đòi ăn xôi vò
(He who has a deformed mouth asks for sticky rice with split beans )
A man of no talent may dare ask for a great interest
Méo mó, có hơn không
(A deformed thing is better than none)
Better an ugly (or defective) wife (or husband ) than none
Better little or a defective thing than none
Cp: A little is better than none
Mềm nắn, rắn buông
(He who grabs the soft lets go the hard)
As: Chưa đánh được người mặt đỏ như vang, đánh được người rồi mặt vàng như nghệ
Mềm thì đào, bở thì đục
(He who digs where the earth is soft chisels where the wall is friable )
One may try to exploit mild-mannered people
Mía có đốt sâu, đốt lành
(Every sugar cane is decayed in some joints )
Not all things as well as human beings are absolutely good
Mía ngọt đánh cả cụm
(He who learns the sugar canes are sweet chops all of them to eat )
As : Hoa thơm, hái cả cụm
Mía sâu có đốt, nhà dột có nơi
(The sugar cane is not all decayed and the roof is not all leaky )
Not all things and people are bad
Miếng ăn đến mồm mà vẫn còn rơi
(The morsel falls even when close to the mouth )
One may lose what’s been in his reach
Cp: There is many a slip between the cup and the lip
Miếng ăn là miếng nhục
(A morsel of food is a morsel of shame)
Eating in some cases may devalue one’s virtue
Miếng ăn quá khẩu thành tàn
(Eating may turn a greedy man into a cruel man )
As: Miếng ăn là miếng nhục
Miếng ngon nhớ lâu, điều cơ cầu nhớ dai
(Delicious dishes and cruel deeds make a long remembrance)
What gives a great impression will be long remembered
Miếng ngon nhớ lâu, đòn đau nhớ đời
(Delicious dishes and hard beatings are long remembered)
As: Miếng ngon nhớ lâu, điều cơ cầu nhớ dai
Miếng ngon nhớ lâu, lời đau nhớ đời
(Delicious dishes and acute words make a long remembrance )
As: Miếng ngon nhớ lâu, điều cơ cầu nhớ dai
Miếng trầu là đầu câu chuyện
(A piece of betel starts a conversation )
In the old time, people often invited one another pieces of betel before a conversation
Miếng trầu là đầu thuốc câm
(A piece of betel is a kind of medicine causing people dumb)
One is difficult to refuse others’ demands when he has
received their pieces of betel
Miếng trầu nên dâu nhà người
(A piece of betel makes a girl a bride )
When a girl’s parents receive somebody’s betel and areca nuts, they have agreed to marry her to him
Miếng trầu nhập ngõ là miếng trầu bỏ đi
(The piece of betel for engagement is of no value )
Engagement may not come to a wedding
Miệng ăn, núi lở
(A mouth can eat up moutains)
Eating without working will soon spend up all wealth
Miệng chào rơi, bụng khấn trời đừng ăn
(He who invites the guests to dinner prays to God that they will not accept his invitation)
One may just be kind-hearted by mouth, not by heart
Miệng còn thèm, lại có nem thết khách
(He who is still dying for eating spares meat rolls for his guests )
One may forget his interests to please his guests
Miệng đã se, lại có chè thết khách
(He who is thirsty spares tea for his guests )
As: Miệng còn thèm lại có nem thết khách
Miệng hùm, gan sứa
(He who has a tiger's mouth but has a jelly fish's liver )
As: Chưa đánh được người mặt mày xanh tía, đánh được người rồi hồn vía lên mây
Miệng kẻ sang có gang có thép
(Steel lies in a noble man's mouth )
An authoritative man’s words are powerful
Miệng khôn, trôn dại (tục)
(Her mouth is wise but her vulva is foolish) (vulg)
A woman who speaks wisely may be a light-headed one
Miệng lô tô làm khổ chân tay
(A babbling mouth causes trouble to the limbs )
As: ếch chết tại miệng
Miệng mật, lòng dao
(He who has a honey-tongue but has a knife-heart )
As: Cá vàng bụng bọ
Miệng nam mô, bụng bồ dao găm
(His mouth is full of prayers but his belly is full of daggers)
As: Cá vàng, bụng bọ
Miệng ông cai, vai đầy tớ
(Like a supervisor's mouth, like a servant's shoulders)
Supervisors often shout and servants often work hard
Miệng quan, trôn trẻ
(Like a child's anus, like a mandarin's mouth)
Men of authority change their words very quickly
Miệng thế gian không ít thì nhiều
(More or less, truth lies in a rumour )
Not all rumours are false
Miệng thơn thớt, dạ ớt ngâm
(Honey's tongue but chilly's heart)
As: Cá vàng, bụng bọ
Miệng tồ lô làm khổ chân tay
(A careless mouth troubles the limbs )
As : Miệng lô tô làm khổ chân tay
Mình lính, tính quan
(A soldier's body but a mandarin's character )
As: Con nhà lính, tính nhà quan
Mình ở lỗ, cổ đeo hoa
(His body is naked but his neck wear flowers )
One may be queer in dressing and adornment
Mọt nào ăn được cứt sắt
(No moth can eat slags of iron)
Nobody can ask anything from a close-fisted man
Mồ cha không khóc, khóc đống mối
(He who never cries on his father's tomb cries on termites' hill )
It’s blamable of a man not to take pity on his parents but on outsiders
Mồ chẳng chối, nói dối cho mồ
(The tomb can't deny so he shifts his lie to it )
One may shift his faults to others
Superstitious people believe that everything in their life is always connected to their ancestors’ tombs
Mồ côi cha ăn cơm với cá, mồ côi mẹ liếm lá đầu chợ
(A fatherless child can have fish and rice to eat, but a motherless child just licks snack-packing leaves in the market )
Mothers look after their children better than fathers
Mồ mẹ không khóc, khóc mối bòng bong
(He doesn't cry on his mother's tomb but a pile of bamboostrip wastes )
As: Mồ cha không khóc, khóc đống mối
Môi hở răng lạnh
(When the mouth is open, the teeth feel cold )
In an ally, one weak member will weaken the others
Cp: The chain is no stronger than its weakest link
Mỗi cái tóc, một cái tội
(Every hair is every sin )
Man has a lot of sins
Mỗi cây một hoa, mỗi nhà một cảnh
(Every tree has its own blossoms and every family has its own situation )
Different people have different lives
Cp: All bread is not baked in one oven
Mỗi năm mỗi tuổi như đuổi xuân đi
(Every year he gets one more age as if his green years were by and by driven away )
One’s life is spent very quickly
One gets old very quickly
Mỗi người một điều, dỡ lều mà đi
(If everyone keeps his own idea, he has to dismantle his tent to go away )
To live together, people should make concessions
Mồm chó vó ngựa
(A horse's hooves and a dog's mouth are alike )
One should be aware of a dog’s mouth for it may bite and a horse’s hooves for it may kick
Mồm mẹ mẻ nói chẳng sứt
(A cracked mouth says “no notching”)
An experienced man often predicts right
Mồm miệng đỡ chân tay
(His mouth helps his hands )
As: Làm biếng lấy miệng mà đưa
Môn không ngứa, khoai ngứa nỗi gì ?
(The wild taro isn't itchy why the taro is ?)
The insider may not be worried but the outsider may be
Mồng ba ăn rốn, mồng bốn ngồi trơ
(He who tried to eat up all the food on the third date sat without food on the fourth one)
One may just think of today, not of tomorrow
Một cái nóc gánh trăm cái rui, trăm cái rui đè một cái nóc
(A roof carries one hundred rafters and one hundred rafters lie on the top of a roof )
Every man has a burden of family
Một câu nhịn chín là câu lành
(A soft word equals nine kind ones )
One should sometimes bear insults to keep a peaceful social relation
Một câu nói ngay làm chay cả tháng
(A true word equals a whole month of praying )
A true word spoken out is more useful than lots of prayers
A true word spoken out may cause a lot of troubles
Một chạch không đầy đầm
(One loach doesn't fill the marsh )
One can’t make a great cause alone
Cp: One man is no man
Một chân bước ra, ba chân bước vào
(One foot out, three feet in )
When one man leaves his position, lots of people will apply for it
Một chồng rẫy là bảy chồng chờ
(She who is abandoned by her husband is awaited by seven other men )
A beautiful divorcee will not live alone long
Một chữ nên thầy
(He who teaches just one word is also called teacher )
One should respect those who transfer knowledge to him
Một con ngựa đau, cả tàu bỏ cỏ
(When a horse is sick, its whole pack will not eat )
As: Chết cả đống hơn sống một người
Một con sa bằng ba con đẻ
(A failed birth equals three successful ones )
A failed birth does much harm to a pregnant woman
Một con so lo bằng mười con dạ
(The first birth causes more anxiety than other ten)
As: Chửa con so làm lo láng giềng
Một con tằm cũng phải hái dâu, một con trâu cũng phải đứng đồng
(Even one silkworm makes you pick mulberry leaves and even a buffalo makes you look after it in the field )
Even a small job needs one’s full responsibility
Một cong hai gáo chẳng khua láo cũng long
(Two dippers in one jar will soon break)
There often happen troubles in a family of one husband
and several wives
Một công một của bằng nhau
(Material and toil are equal )
All contributors should be equally treated
Một của một con ai từ ?
(Who denies wealth as well as children ?)
Nobody denies wealth or abandons his children
Một đầm được mấy con cá lớn
(There are very few big fish in a lake)
Men of great talent are very rare
Một đêm nằm, một năm ở
( Sleeping over one night somewhere else is as long as living for one year at home )
One often feels uneasy when he has to spend even one night somewhere else outside his home
Một điều mừng, trăm điều lo
(There is one joy but there are one hundred worries )
There are few joys and lots of worries in one’s life
Một đồn mười, mười đồn trăm
(A rumour will cast into ten and ten into hundred)
A rumour is quickly dispersed
A rumour is often deformed
Một đồng chẳng thông đi chợ
(It's not worth going shopping with just one dong )
One can’t go shopping with a little sum of money
Một đồng khoai, hai đồng vỏ
(The potato's pulp costs one dong but its peel costs two dongs )
The useful part of a thing may be less than its useless part
Một đồng kiếm nát đồng cỏ, hai đồng kiếm đỏ con mắt
(To find one dong he had to search all over the meadow, to find two dongs, he had to search until his eyes got red )
It’s very difficult to earn even a little money
Một đồng một giỏ, chẳng bỏ nghề câu
(He can sell one basketful of fish just for one dong but he never gives the fishing up)
One is very closely connected with his profession
Một đời được mấy anh hùng
(There are very few heroes in a time )
As: Một đầm được mấy con cá lớn
Một đời kiện, chín đời thù
(A generation's lawsuit will make nine generations' hatred)
As: Dĩ hòa vi quí
Một đời làm lại, bại hoại ba đời
(A generation of working as petty official destroys three ones )
Petty officials in the old time were hated for their bribery and extraction
Một già một trẻ bằng nhau
(An old man and a child are alike )
The old may be disregarded by some young people
The old may sometimes be childish
Một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã
(Better a drop of blood than a pond of water )
As: Cháu mười đời còn hơn người dưng
Một kho vàng không bằng một nang chữ
( Better a bag of words than a store of gold )
Knowledge is much more precious than wealth
Cp: Knowledge is power
Một khố, hai người đóng
( There is only one loincloth but there are two wearers )
One ordinary thing may have to be divided for many people
Một kín, mười hở
(With one person it is in secret but with ten people it is revealed)
It’s difficult to keep a secret
Cp: When three know it, all know it
Một là vợ, hai là nợ
(A wife or a debt )
A bad wife is really a burden to a man
Một lạy sống bằng đống lạy chết
( Better a kowtow when he is still living than a pile of kowtows when he is dead )
It is more important for a man to show his filial piety to his parents when they are still living than when they are no longer living
Một lần không chín, chín lần chẳng nên
(Once you don't think carefully, nine times you can't complete your work )
One should think carefully before starting his work
Một lần ngại tốn, bốn lần chẳng xong
(Once he hesitates to spend money, four times his work is half-done )
One shouldn’t be close-fisted when money needs spending
Một lần nhóm bếp, một lần khó
(Once lighting a kitchen fire, once he meets difficulty )
Everything is difficult at the beginning
Một lời nói dối, sám hối bảy ngày
(A lie needs seven days of repentance)
Falsity begets a constant uneasiness of mind
Cp: Repentance is good but innocence is better
Một lời nói, một đọi máu
(A word equals a bowl of blood )
A promise is a sacred thing that one can’t eat up
Cp: Promise is debt
Một lời nói - quan tiền thúng thóc, một lời nói - dùi đục cẳng tay
(Words can bring about rice and money but they may bring about blows only )
Words play a very important role in one’s social relations
Một mặt hơn mười gói
(Better one open than ten close )
One in the hand equals ten by words
Cp: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Một mặt người bằng mười mặt của
(One person is equal to ten properties )
Human beings are much more valuable than wealth
Một mất, mười ngờ
(One thing is lost, ten people are suspected )
When one has something stolen he often suspects lots of people
Một mẹ già bằng ba then cửa
(An old mother equals three door bolts )
An old mother is still an important member in her family by looking after the house for her children
Một mẹ nuôi được mười con, mười con không nuôi được một mẹ
(One mother can bring up ten children but ten children can't foster one mother )
Parents’ love to their children is bounderless and uncomparable
Một miếng giữa làng bằng một sàng xó bếp
(A morsel in the communal house equals a siftful in the kitchen )
As: Góc ao không bằng đao đình
Một miếng khi đói bằng một gói khi no
(A morsel when hungry is as good as a pack when having a full stomach)
A little help in misfortune is as good as a big one in fortune
Một miệng, hai lòng
(He has a mouth but has two hearts )
As: Cá vàng, bụng bọ
Một miệng thì kín , chín miệng thì hở
(A secret is kept in a mouth but revealed in nine)
As: Một kín, mười hở
Một nạm gió bằng một bó chèo
(A handful of wind equals a bundle of paddles )
Objective conditions may help more than subjective efforts
Một năm làm nhà, ba năm hết gạo
(He who has a house made for one year has no rice left in three years)
House building costs a lot of money
Một ngày thả chài bảy mươi hai ngày phơi lưới
(He who casts the net one day, dries the net seventy-two days )
One is blamable to work lazily
Một nghề cho chín hơn chín mười nghề
(Better skilled in one occupation than unskilled in ten )
One should spare all his effort and time for his main occupation
Cp: Jack of all trades is master of none
Một nghề thì sống, đống nghề thì chết
( To know one trade is to live and to know all trades is to die )
As: Một nghề cho chín hơn chín mười nghề
Một người cười, mười người khóc
(One man laughs, ten men cry )
One man’s joy may make a lot of other people unhappy
Một người làm đĩ, xấu danh đàn bà
(A prostitute blurs all the women's names )
As: Con sâu bỏ rầu nồi canh
Một người làm nên cả họ được cậy, một người làm
bậy cả họ mất nhờ
( All his relatives get favour when he gets a high position, all his relatives lose favour when he does wrong )
One’s deeds can cause great affection to his relatives
Một người làm quan, cả họ được nhờ
(All his relatives get favour when he is a mandarin )
As : Một người làm nên cả họ được cậy, một người làm bậy cả họ mất nhờ
Một người lo bằng kho người làm
(One man of management equals a store of manual labour)
A good management plays a very important role in working
Brain work plays a very important part in one’s activities
Một quan đè chín tiền
(One quan lies heavy on nine pennnies )
The rich always oppress the poor
Một quan tiền công không bằng một đồng tiền thưởng
(One quan of wage is not so valuable as ten pence of bonus )
Bonus causes a great effect on one’s spirit
Một sự bất tín, vạn sự không tin
(He who is once mistrusted will be thousand times unbelievable )
Honesty keeps up one’s prestige and vice versa
Cp: A liar is not believed when he speaks the truth
Một tay nâng được mấy trái bòng ?
(How many pieces of grape fruit can a hand lift up ?)
One should do his work according to his ability
Một tiền gà, ba tiền thóc
(The chicken costs one but its food costs three)
Side expenses may cost more than main ones
Một trăm con gái không bằng hòn dái con trai (tục)
(One hundred girls are not worth a boy's testicles)(vulg)
Woman is of no value
Một vợ không khố mà mang, hai vợ bỏ làng mà đi
(He who has no loincloth to wear with one wife has to leave his village with two wives)
One’s family is quite a burden to himself
Một xanh cỏ, hai đỏ ngực
(Green-grassed tomb or red-medaled breast)
In a hero’s life, there are no other ways but death and glory
Cp: Sink or swim
Mới lên khỏi bể, lại vào trong hang
(He who has just come out of the sea, has to come into the cave)
One may meet a lot of troubles continuously
Mới thăm ván, đã bán thuyền
(He who has just come to see the planks decides to sell out the boat at once)
One may do his work in a hurry
Mù trời mới bắt được két
(A teal is caught just when it’s foggy )
Objective situations play a very important part in one’s
activities
Mua bò vẽ bóng
(He buys a cow just by examining the picture of it )
One shouldn’t do anything in uncertainty
Mua danh ba vạn bán danh ba đồng
(He who buys his name with thirty thousand piasters sells it for only three)
It’s very easy to get a bad name but very difficult to gain a good one
Cp: A good name is sooner lost than won
Mua heo chọn nái, mua gái chọn dòng
(Choose a good sow to buy her suckling pigs and choose a good race to marry a girl)
As: Lấy vợ xem tông, lấy chồng xem giống
Mua lầm, bán không lầm
(Not a seller but a buyer is mistaken)
A seller knows very well about the quality and price of his goods
Mua pháo mượn người đốt
(He who has bought fire crackers asks another to light them)
One is blamable to spend money on something for another to enjoy
Mua thì thêm, chêm thì chặt
(He asks for some more when buying as he puts in a shim to make tight )
It’s natural for a man to ask for some more when buying
Mua trâu, bán chả
(He who buys buffaloes sells meat rolls)
One may give out a lot but get in little
Mua trâu chọn nái, mua gái lựa dòng
(Choose a good she buffalo to buy her calves and choose
a good race to marry a girl)
As: Mua heo chọn nái, mua gái chọn dòng
Mua trâu xem vó, lấy vợ xem nòi
(Choose a good buffalo by examining its hooves and choose a good wife by examing her race )
As: Mua heo xem nái, mua gái lựa dòng
Mùa hạ buôn bông, mùa đông buôn quạt
(She who trades in cotton in summer trades in fans in winter )
One is blamable not to do his job in time
Mùa hè cá sông, mùa đông cá ao
(Eat river fish in summer and eat pond fish in winter)
Everything should be timely used
Mũi dại, lái chịu đòn
(When the bow is mistaken, the steering wheel will suffer the beating)
The superior has to take responsibility of his men’s faults
Parents have to take responsibility of their children’s faults
Muối đổ lòng ai, nấy xót
(Those whose hearts are salted feel poignant )
None but those who are in calamity feel painful
Cp: It is easy to bear the misfortunes of others
Muốn ăn cá cả thì thả câu dài
(He who wants to eat big fish has to throw a long fishing
line)
As: Chưa làm vòng chớ mong ăn thịt
Muốn ăn cá, phải thả câu
(He who wants to eat fish has to go fishing )
As: Chưa làm vòng chớ mong ăn thịt
Muốn ăn, gắp bỏ cho người
(He who wants to eat a morsel picks it to another)
One often hides his wishes for something by transfering it to another
Muốn ăn hét, phải đào giun
(He who wants to eat thrushes has to go digging worms )
As: Chưa làm vòng chớ mong ăn thịt
Muốn ăn lúa thì tìm giống
(He who wants to eat rice has to look for seeds)
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