mèo mả gà đồng

Vietnamese

Etymology

Literally "graveyard cats and field [i.e. wild] chickens".

gà đồng also means "(edible) frog".

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [mɛw˨˩ maː˧˩ ɣaː˨˩ ʔɗəwŋ͡m˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [mɛw˦˩ maː˧˨ ɣaː˦˩ ʔɗəwŋ͡m˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [mɛw˨˩ maː˨˩˦ ɣaː˨˩ ʔɗəwŋ͡m˨˩]

Noun

mèo mả gà đồng

1. (idiomatic, derogatory, often used attributive) vagabond; hobo