tre già măng mọc

Vietnamese

Etymology

tre (“bamboo”) +‎ già (“old”) +‎ măng (“bamboo shoot”) +‎ mọc (“grow”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕɛ˧˧ zaː˨˩ maŋ˧˧ mawk͡p̚˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈɛ˧˧ jaː˦˩ maŋ˧˧ mawk͡p̚˨˩ʔ]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʈɛ˧˧ jaː˨˩ maŋ˧˧ mawk͡p̚˨˩˨]

Idiom

tre già măng mọc

1. (literally) when bamboos grow old, young shoots spring up
2. (figuratively) when the old generations gone, the younger one will replace them