nhất nam viết hữu, thập nữ viết vô

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 一 (“one”), 男 (“male”), 曰 (“means”) and 有 (“yes”) and Sino-Vietnamese word from 十 (“ten”), 女 (“female”), 曰 (“means”) and 無 (“no”)

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɲət̚˧˦ naːm˧˧ viət̚˧˦ hiw˦ˀ˥ tʰəp̚˧˨ʔ nɨ˦ˀ˥ viət̚˧˦ vo˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɲək̚˦˧˥ naːm˧˧ viək̚˦˧˥ hɨw˧˨ tʰəp̚˨˩ʔ nɨ˧˨ viək̚˦˧˥ vow˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ɲək̚˦˥ naːm˧˧ viək̚˦˥ hɨw˨˩˦ tʰəp̚˨˩˨ nɨ˨˩˦ viək̚˦˥ vow˧˧] ~ [ɲək̚˦˥ naːm˧˧ jiək̚˦˥ hɨw˨˩˦ tʰəp̚˨˩˨ nɨ˨˩˦ jiək̚˦˥ jow˧˧]

Proverb

nhất nam viết hữu, thập nữ viết vô

1. (literal) one boy means one, ten girls mean none
2. (figurative) only boys are worth having