quá tam ba bận

Vietnamese

Etymology

Literally, "over three times". The use of both Sino-Vietnamese tam (三) and native ba for "three" next to each other is probably a form of emphasis.

Compare similar expressions such as Chinese 事不過三／事不过三 (sự bất quá tam) and English third time's a charm.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kwaː˧˦ taːm˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓən˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kwaː˨˩˦ taːm˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓəŋ˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [waː˦˥ taːm˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓəŋ˨˩˨]

Phrase

quá tam ba bận

1. (idiomatic) after three attempts, the chance of the success decreases greatly