đầu trâu mặt ngựa
Vietnamese
editEtymology
editCalque of Chinese 牛頭馬面/牛头马面 (Ngưu Đầu Mã Diện, literally “Bull-Head and Horse-Face”), equivalent to đầu (“head”) + trâu (“water buffalo”) + mặt (“face”) + ngựa (“horse”). Compare Japanese 牛頭馬頭 (Gozu Mezu, Ngưu Đầu Mã Đầu, literally “Bull-Head and Horse-Head”).
Pronunciation
edit- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɗəw˨˩ t͡ɕəw˧˧ mat̚˧˨ʔ ŋɨə˧˨ʔ]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɗəw˦˩ ʈəw˧˧ mak̚˨˩ʔ ŋɨə˨˩ʔ]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [ʔɗəw˨˩ ʈəw˧˧ mak̚˨˩˨ ŋɨə˨˩˨]
Idiom
edit- (figurative) a thug (a criminal who treats others violently or roughly)