khổ nhục kế

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 苦肉計. Stratagem #34 in the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xo˧˩ ɲʊwk͡p̚˧˨ʔ ke˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰow˧˨ ɲʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ kej˨˩˦] ~ [xow˧˨ ɲʊwk͡p̚˨˩ʔ kej˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kʰow˨˩˦ ɲʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨ kej˦˥] ~ [xow˨˩˦ ɲʊwk͡p̚˨˩˨ kej˦˥]

Noun

khổ nhục kế

1. the ruse of inflicting an injury upon oneself to win the trust of one's enemy