bỉ sắc tư phong

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 彼 (“that”), 嗇 (“insufficient”), 斯 (“this”) and 豐 (“bountiful”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓi˧˩ sak̚˧˦ tɨ˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɪj˧˨ ʂak̚˦˧˥ tɨ˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [ʔɓɪj˧˨ sak̚˦˧˥ tɨ˧˧ fɔŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɪj˨˩˦ ʂak̚˦˥ tɨ˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [ʔɓɪj˨˩˦ sak̚˦˥ tɨ˧˧ fawŋ͡m˧˧]

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Phrase

bỉ sắc tư phong

1. (who) is rich in this is poor in that; (figurative) one cannot have it both ways

   Anh ấy rất giỏi ngoại ngữ nhưng lại yếu môn toán, lạ gì bỉ sắc tư phong.

   He is very good at foreign languages but bad at math, it's not strange that one cannot have it both ways.

   • 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)‎^[1], published 1866, lines 5–6:

     𨔍(Lạ)之(gì)彼(bỉ)嗇(sắc)斯(tư)豊(phong)
     𡗶(Trời)撑(xanh)涓(quen)貝(với)𦟐(má)紅(hồng)打(đánh)㭴(ghen)

     It’s not strange that beauty may beget misery.
     The jealous gods tend to heap spites on rosy-cheeked beauties.

See also

• được cái này mất cái kia (you win some, you lose some)