mò kim đáy bể

Vietnamese

Etymology

Compare Chinese 海底摸針／海底摸针 (hải để mạc châm).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [mɔ˨˩ kim˧˧ ʔɗaj˧˦ ʔɓe˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [mɔ˦˩ kim˧˧ ʔɗaj˨˩˦ ʔɓej˧˨]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [mɔ˨˩ kim˧˧ ʔɗa(ː)j˦˥ ʔɓej˨˩˦]

Verb

mò kim đáy bể

1. (idiomatic) to look for a needle in a haystack; literally "to blindly look for a needle at the bottom of the ocean"